Time Heals Some Wounds
by BnaditCorps
Summary: The Air Nation, The Avatar, and the Police are chasing down the remnants the Dai Li when something goes terribly wrong. Jinora is presumed dead after a mission and Kai does something no one expects years after her apparent death. Kainora throughout, more mature in the later chapters. Blood and gore in several palces. Most is safe for T, but some scenes make M required.
1. Chapter 1: The Mission

**Discalimer: I do not own anything.**

 **A/N: This takes place 1 year after the events of Book 4. All later chapters will have a similar note if a long time has passed since the previous chapter in the story. Now for what you have been waiting for.**

 **Kainora Chapter 1: The Mission**

 **Prologue:**

The Dai Li has collapsed after Avatar Korra disbands it, but a few still loyal are leading resistance groups and taking hostages and prisoners. The Air Nation, Avatar and Police have been given information on where the next prisoner transfer will be and they are moving to intercept.

* * *

It was a cold day in the northern Earth Kingdom as they group of airbenders, police and avatar came to the point that their information had specified for the prisoners being held by the remnants of the Dai Li.

Tenzin set his bison down with Kai and Jinora following suit. "This is it." Lin said as she looked around.

"Now we wait." Mako said getting into a comfy position.

"Okay I'll go check the perimeter." Kai began to walk away to secure the perimeter.

"Wait!" Jinora yelled after him.

"What?" He was confused

"I'm going with you." Jinora gave her father a look that made him not question it.

"Ok be back soon." Tenzin ordered

"Shouldn't take too long." Kai began to walk again.

* * *

The Duo walked back after securing the perimeter. Then they heard a fight erupting, it was happening, now.

"Quick!" Kai opened his wing suit and took off, Jinora followed suit.

They came up and saw a huge battle erupting below. Korra was facing off against 10 of the former Dai Li while Tenzin and Lin were back to back fighting off 15, the rest of the police and airbenders were taking in 1 on 1 matches and the occasional 2 on 1.

Kai and Jinora came down landing back to back fighting towards the prisoners who were being loaded onto an airship. They got close and freed all the prisoners giving them to the police who formed earth shield to protect them. Then it happened. Jinora was hit by a rock in the back of the head knocking her out. Kai saw this happen and sent her assailant flying into the woods.

He knelt down and checked on her, she was fine so long as he got her out of there. He began to protect her unconscious form from the Dai Li. Then one of them started to drag her away with an earth fist. Kai sent the man at least 100 feet into the air, he landed safely though as he collapsed the ground beneath him. Kai quickly got overwhelmed by reinforcements and went purely defensive.

* * *

Tenzin saw Kai fending off at least 50 of the Dai Li, he had no idea how the boy was doing it. Then he saw Jinora on the ground. He ran over knocking 10 men to the ground with an air kick. Then Tenzin watched in horror as a man grabbed his daughter.

Kai saw it to and immediately gave up his wounding shots, he was aiming to kill. He launched Jinora's assailant back into the woods and Mako heard a loud snap as the man hit a tree and fell to the ground limp.

Kai was now fighting for his loves life, he took lots of hits from rocks the size of fists to rocks the size of his head. He was not stopping though, he would never let them take Jinora as long has he lived. He sent a very very very powerful air swipe at a row of the enemy cutting them in 2 he didn't even flinch at the sight of their upper and lower halves falling in separate directions.

Tenzin saw the sight of the boy taking rocks that would knock most anyone to the ground and then he saw him cut the row of enemies down, he knew why he was doing it and couldn't hate him for it, but he still knew Kai was going to be sad for it later.

Kai launched himself at the men carrying Jinora away and sent one into the ground breaking his neck and paralyzing him, the rest were lucky, they just got knocked back.

* * *

The enemy had seen what this seemingly weak boy was doing and began to converge on him and forgetting about the others they were fighting.

The police and airbenders began to charge in clearing a path towards the master and the boy who was trying to free her. They saw the death that Kai was causing as they came closer.

Then Kai saw Jinora being thrown onto the airship and it began to leave. He blew all the enemies away and charged towards the airship. Then massive fireball came out of it, his world crumbled in front of him, he didn't care if he might die, he was going to find her.

* * *

He was searching through the flames that burned his skin he couldn't find her. He went in further and then an explosion rocked the ship. He barely saved himself with an air cocoon that stopped the metal from crushing him, but he was trapped.

"Kai!" Mako yelled as he saw the airship exploded and crashed to the earth.

"Quick, find them!" Lin ordered her officers. Metalbenders began to tear the mass of destroyed metal apart.

"Over here!" An officer yelled causing Tenzin, Bolin, and Mako to rush over. In the cavity they saw Kai unconsciously lying in a void.

"Kai" Bolin spoke under his breath. They pulled him out and he quickly woke up. He was shaken and in need of medical attention.

"Ji-nor-a" He sounded it out causing the normally composed Mako to shudder.

The metalbenders searched the whole area of the crash site and only found a piece of Jinora's wingsuit. Kai who was now up and walking, much to Korra's disagreement, walked over and broke down. Everyone tried to calm him, but he knew that she was gone.

* * *

The group came back to Air Temple Island, no one had to say anything their faces said it all. Pema broke down, Ikki and Meelo looked at the ground in shock and then held onto their mother. That day changed all of them.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok this is my first attempt at a fanfiction so don't hate me if it sucks, but criticism is welcome as long as it pertains to the subject. As you can tell this chapter is more a a prologue to the main story. My reasoning behind some of my plot choices and devices will become clear towards the end of this story. I plan to have at least 6 chapters, but depending on how I make chapter 5 flow it could be up to substantially more or less. I'm trying to keep the chapter length around 1000 words, but a few chapters will be over 2000 and there might be the occasional one under 500. I am currently editing chapters 2-4 and writing 5 so expect more soon.**


	2. Chapter 2: Mourning

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own anything.**

 **A/N: Thank you for the review of the last chapter mpowers045, you are my first reviewer that is not a close friend.**

 **Now back to the story. This chapter occurs the week after last chapter to a month after last chapter.**

 **Kainora Chapter 2: Mourning**

* * *

The next week was hard for everyone, but Kai hadn't left Jinora's room. Tenzin would have been yelling at him under normal circumstances, but he knew that the boy had genuine feelings for her after that day.

He came out after that week and went to their spot. It was under a small tree next to a pond with a rock nearby on the far side of the island from the temple. He stayed there for 2 weeks, he slept in the dirt and drank from the pond, and food never crossed his mind.

Everyone knew that he was dying inside, the whole island had gone to help, and most had been launched back to the temple by his air blasts. Those who hadn't been knocked back though were greeted by internal walls stronger than those that surround Ba Sing Se.

Kai finally came back to the temple and took a shower. He washed his clothes and put on a clean pair of robes, but he had an extra layer that surprised most, Tenzin shook it off though, he knew that Kai was trying to keep what little he had of her close. His new layer was one of Jinora's robes (Imagine Aang's robes he wore before fighting Ozai). It was a silky scarlet red and he wore it over his right shoulder while the rest of his robes went over his left shoulder.

He didn't care what people said about it until one day someone poked too far into the subject of why he was wearing a robe on the wrong shoulder. That made him stop and turn on a dime, the airbender knew he had messed up and was about to be yelled down the hall when 2 others walked in and quickly led him away. Kai glared at him as he was dragged away.

It had been a month and a half since her death when Tenzin approached him. This wasn't normal and Kai was about to become defensive, but Tenzin spoke first.

"I have decided to give you your tattoos." Tenzin was looking at Kai who was in utter disbelief, he had only mastered 30 of the forms and he was getting his tattoos.

"Uh…why?" Kai was reaching for the back of his neck

"Well I saw how you fought that day, it was above my level even. Only an insane man could not call you a master." Kai was fading into his memories, that day even though he had lost her he had shown Tenzin his true feelings and his mastery of the element.

"I…I don't know, I wouldn't want to be the first airbender in history to get their tattoos due to fighting." He knew that airbenders were peaceful, they had been told no airbender had received their marks from fighting, Kai didn't want to break that.

"Well I have meditated on the subject and asked everyone who witnessed it. They all say you deserve them…Even my father." Tenzin was hesitant to say the last part, he had finally connected to his father's spirit, but not for what he had wanted to.

"Well I guess if Avatar Aang said it was ok I will go with it." Kai was relieved to hear that one of the most peaceful people who had lived said his actions gave him the ability to get his tattoos.

"Okay then it's settled, come to the acolyte hall at 6 in the morning the day after tomorrow so we can begin." Tenzin walked away leaving Kai to think.

"Well at least I did one thing first" He chuckled and for the first time since her death he smiled.

Jinora had seen the whole conversation with her astral projection and was happy that Kai seemed to be moving on. She didn't want him to worry about her, she was being held captive by the Dai Li and being used as leverage should they be attacked.

She had figured out that she couldn't be seen though. The first day in her cell she had concentrated on Kai's energy and stood in front of him trying to get his attention for hours to no avail. When she came back though she saw that she had blood running down her side and a wound on her arm. _Glad I wasn't able to feel that she thought_.

* * *

Kai had gotten his tattoos and was approached by many people congratulating him for being the first Harmonic Convergence airbender to receive tattoos as well as the first to get them for fighting, the later he was saddened about. He walked to his room after the party and then began to have second thoughts. _I'll just spend tonight in her room maybe that will calm me he thought._

He walked into the part of the temple where Tenzin's family lived. He was greeted by Pema who was about to take Rohan up to bed, he had fallen asleep though and she was going to leave him on the floor.

"I'll get him." Kai offered seeing Pema turning around from her sleeping son.

"No he'll be fine." Pema insisted.

"It's the least I can do." Kai said as he leaned down and picked Rohan up. _He has put on some weight Kai thought._

"Okay, I'll get the door then." Pema went up the stairs and opened the door to Rohan's room. Kai placed him on the bed gently.

"Why did you come here to begin with?" Pema soon realized she was talking to blank space.

Kai was curled up in the sheets that he and Jinora had been caught sleeping together in more than once. It had never been anything really bad, the worst was one time when they were both down to their underwear and Tenzin walked in. Kai smiled at the memory.

That night had been close, but they Kai surprisingly had been the one who held back. Jinora couldn't get angry though, she knew he was making the right decision. So they just slept as they had left off. He still remembered how warm her skin was on his, his arms around her, not a care in the world.

He came back from his thoughts and looked at the marks along his hands they reminded him of one thing, Jinora. He cried himself to sleep that night.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Action will be picking up next chapter. This chapter is more for character development as I need to show something later on.**


	3. Chapter 3: Teaching Mishaps

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **A/N: I have decided that uploads for this story will be on the weekends for the most part. There may or may not be an upload tomorrow as I have a mountain bike race, and depending on how tired I am afterwards.**

 **Kainora Chapter 3: Teaching Mishaps**

* * *

1 week after his master ceremony Kai teaching a class in basic offense and defense. Bolin was there to help him demonstrate.

"So you see how he threw that rock? That was a very clever thing to do and shows the most obvious reason for why one must master these basics before moving on." He looked at Bolin halfway through, he had resorted to using a more complex form due to Bolin's awkward attack angle.

"Now we move onto the offensive side. Remember an airbender only uses his bending offensively when they or others are in danger. Even then you only wound, killing is frowned upon unless the circumstances permit." At his last sentence a few of the class shuddered, they had heard how Kai had fought off the Dai Li and knew that he had killed many in the short battle.

"Any questions?" He asked

"What would you say are the circumstances for killing?" One student asked, he received nervous looks from the others, Kai just began to talk.

"It is a tough call, one which you must make in the moment. Advice is not useful for the most part, I found that out the hard way." He lowered his face and a tear fell from his eye. Bolin walked over and comforted him.

"Ok let's go onto the offensive forms now."

Bolin and Kai sparred, then Bolin sent an attack that made Kai have a flashback, the moment Jinora was knocked out. He immediately went into a fury of attacks, he cut through Bolin's wall in seconds. Bolin jumped out of the way just in time to miss a deadly swipe.

"Whoa Kai it's just me!" Bolin yelled as he dove for cover.

"I…I…I" Kai began to stutter and then collapsed and put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry" He weakly croaked as Bolin came over to comfort him.

"Is uh class dismissed?" A student asked

"Yes" Bolin told him and then looked back at Kai who was now crying.

"Where are you going?" Tenzin asked, he was supposed to be giving Kai's class a history lesson in a few minutes.

"Master Bolin dismissed us." One of them replied "Master Kai looked like he was having a bad day." Another added. Tenzin nodded and walked around the corner to see Kai and Bolin at the front of the room. He could sense the distress Kai was in. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw what Kai was holding, a scarlet red robe.

Tenzin had the class meet in the meditation pavilion leaving Kai and Bolin in the sparring circle.

"Hey bro come over to my house later we'll deal with this." Kai just nodded and continued on with his sobs.

* * *

Kai had recovered from the breakdown that had disturbed his class and went over to Bolin and Opal's after cleaning up in his room, which was now in the main temple next to Jinora's old room. Tenzin had been using the room as a guest room for a long time, but he gave it to Kai after he and Pema had decided to bring him into the family.

Kai walked onwards towards the beach that looked out at the bay, just above the beach was where Bolin and Opal lived. Bolin had finally asked Opal to marry him and she had yelled yes so loud it had surely caused the dead to turn over in their graves.

Their house was a small cottage that had a small kitchen, 2 bedrooms, a roomy living area and 1 bathroom. Bolin had made it with his, at the time, new metal bending skills.

He remembered when he and Jinora had stopped by after he built it for the house warming party. The drinks had flowed freely and Jinora had 1 too many Kai dragged her back and had to explain it to Tenzin.

* * *

 **Flashback**

"I swear it wasn't my idea for her to start drinking. She was egged on by Opal!" Kai was explaining the situation as Jinora was muttering incoherently.

"Well by the sounds of it you were supervising so how did it happen?" Tenzin fired back.

"Well Mako dragged me away to talk about something and when I came back she was trading shots with Opal!" Kai's explanation wasn't good enough for Tenzin.

"Well then why didn't you take her out then?" Tenzin sneered

"That is when we left!" Kai shouted back.

"Well I will talk with everyone tomorrow about it and we'll see." Tenzin motioned for him to leave.

The day after Jinora had a terrible hangover and it had been Kai who had helped her, of course that was after their punishments which consisted of having boulders stacked on their backs while a fire was raging around them causing sweltering heat. Even during the harsh punishment Kai had lightened Jinora's load by way of airbending. That had resulted in his load being doubled, he didn't care though his focus was on helping Jinora through this.

Tenzin had noticed how Kai had fought his own pain for Jinora's sake even though he knew the pain had to be extreme. That was one of the first times Tenzin had noticed the lengths Kai was willing to go to in order to keep Jinora from being hurt.

Kai had stayed by her side afterwards and helped her through the day. He had a slight hangover to, but he hadn't been the one taking 100% cactus juice.

* * *

He smiled as the memory faded and he knocked on Bolin's door.

"Come in" He heard Opal yell.

"Hey bro" Bolin said as Kai walked in.

"Hey, so what are we going to talk about?" Kai asked

"Well I wasn't planning on talking much about you know what. I was going to let the drinks take us wherever they do." Bolin grabbed a bottle of cactus juice and handed one to Kai.

 _It has been too long he thought as he took it from Bolin's hand._

They drank all night and swapped stories.

"…Yea then I came up behind him and stole the keys so we could break into the commanders room."

"Well who knew your thievery skills would come in handy again!" Bolin was laughing.

"I had a feeling they would." Kai joked

"You 2 should get some sleep, you have a lesson to teach." Opal said as she walked into the bedroom.

"Nah we are just great." Kai replied

"Whatever" Opal crawled into bed substantially more sober than the 2 guys.

"We'll be fine." A drunken Bolin said to Kai.

"I ain't even worried bout it." Kai replied

With that the 2 drank away and only Bolin got sleep. Kai stayed up to drown his sorrows.

* * *

"Hello" Kai said to Tenzin. Tenzin knew from his smell that he had been drinking, but after yesterday wasn't going to question it.

"Hello" Tenzin replied

"The lesson is at 6 right?" Kai asked

"Yes, and I would suggest you change into something that doesn't smell like cactus juice." Tenzin knew the longer he was up and around in those clothes the more suspicious people would get.

"Ok I'll get on it after breakfast." Kai sat down and ate a quick meal then left to change.

"Master Kai would you know where Master Tenzin is?" Otaku could smell the cactus juice but brushed it off, he had heard of what had happened to Kai the day before.

"He was in the di- di- dining **ACHOO!** " Kai flew into the ceiling and came back down and just pointed.

"Thanks" Otaku cautiously walked away.

Kai stumbled into the house and saw Pema giving Meelo some food. She looked over and looked at him displeased.

"Kai were you drinking again?" She knew that Kai hadn't drank in months, he didn't even drink when Jinora had died. _Although he may have been too shaken to hold a bottle Pema thought._

"Yea" Kai didn't even argue, he was too drunk to think of a counter.

"Will you please not do it again?" Pema knew her plea was in vain.

"Huh? Sure" Kai had lost his train of thought.

"You smell like Uncle Bumi after he goes to the city." Meelo noted.

"Yea that's cool Meelo." Kai had no idea what he was talking about.

He walked up to his room took a shower and changed. Even when he was drunk as a skunk he still knew that he needed to put on his extra layer that he still had from her. He never wore it when he went to go drink for he didn't want to get her smell mixed with the alcohol.

He walked down and to class. Great another boring lesson he thought forgetting he was teaching defensive forms again.

"Ah Kai, you're late." Tenzin saw him walking in.

"No the clock says 6." Kai was pointing at a clock that he had set to his own time, +5 minutes. Tenzin sighed, he had just told the acolytes to fix it and now he knew why it kept getting broken.

"Very well, I believe your class would like to see the air shield technique." Tenzin sat down of to the side.

"This is going to be good." Bumi whispered in his ear, Tenzin just nodded.

"Ok I'm not too good at teaching this, but I can demonstrate how to do it."

"Tenzin could you send an air blast this way?" Kai asked Tenzin replied with a swift swing of his arm.

Tenzin looked on in shock as Kai not only blocked his attack but also a fire blast from behind. Kai turned and saw a man he knew well, it was a triad member, and he had seen that man burn Opal and Mako. Now he was attacking the temple.

"What are you doing here?!" Kai yelled at the man.

"Well someone said a new master was recently anointed after a fight. I wanted to come test him, of course if he is too scared I could perhaps find a reason to make him fight." The man held up Rohan who had a gag in his mouth. Kai's eyes narrowed.

"So do you want the kid or are you going to fight?" The man asked

"Was that a question?" Kai seethed back

"Well I don't know how a drunk man would fair against a perfectly sober triad."

"We'll see about that." Kai replied

"Oh did I mention that you have to come and get him." The man took off in a sprint. Kai leapt up and in one bound was on the roof right behind him.

Tenzin was already following hot in pursuit as were Bumi and Ikki.

The man jumped down and landed in the courtyard to see a 4 vs 1 match-up. "Well how is this fair? I might just have to bring my boss a fried airbender if you 3 don't back off." He motioned towards everyone besides Kai.

"I got this." Kai looked at the others.

"Kai you don't have to do this we ca-" Ikki started

"No I do, I can't let someone else die on my hands." Kai was serious, he couldn't stand the thought of costing Tenzin and Pema 2 of their children.

"There now hand the kid over and you don't get hurt." Kai was staring the man in the eyes.

"Well someone thinks they are pretty good aren't they? Last time I checked you only completed a few of the forms. I think I can take you." The man had a cocky smile on his face.

"Suit yourself." Kai sent a kick at the man knocking Rohan out of his arms and he caught him on an air scooter that floated towards a nearby acolyte who barely caught him.

The man looked on in shock at what had just happened.

"You can surrender now and we'll make sure it is just a charge for breaking in." Kai looked at the triad.

The triad looked at Kai. _Just a drunk looking for a fight he thought._

He launched a fire ball at Kai who blocked it and then sent an air blast at him. The triad fell to the ground and sent a fury of attacks at Kai. Kai's drunkenness didn't help, he managed to dodge 2 of them but took a third to his chest and fell over. His head hit the ground, hard. The triad walked up to finish him, but before he got close Kai shook, was that? No it couldn't be, was it? He knew he needed to live to figure it out. He sent an air blast out and knocked the triad off his feet and then got up and towered over him.

He held the man in place until back-up arrived and took him to the police.

"How did you know that man?" Bumi asked Kai.

"He's the one who burnt Opal and Mako." Kai grunted as his adrenaline faded and the alcohol wasn't bothering him anymore, the pain in his chest was worse.

"Oh his wound!" Ikki shouted

"Ikki find a healer, Bumi help me get him to his room." Tenzin barked

"No, I'm fine." Kai walked towards the house, he needed to figure out if that had really been her.

* * *

"Ow!" Kai yelped as the healer hit a particularly painful spot.

"Kai you have to calm down for her to do anything." Opal pleaded

"I know it is just- ouch" He yelped again

"Come on Kai just calm down for a little."

"I'll try." He focused on what he had seen, but he couldn't find it and eventually gave up.

* * *

 **A/N: Please rate and Review. And for those of you wondering how a drunken Kai managed to fight, it will be explained in another chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4: Spirituality Part I

**A/N: Ok so I got around to uploading chapter 4. This is chapter will have some big stuff go down. I had to revise this 7-9 times before i felt good about it. Enjoy**

 **Chapter 4: Spirituality Part I**

* * *

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to our greatest change."

~Avatar Aang

* * *

It had been 4 years since Jinora had died. Near everyone had accepted that she had died that day. Kai hadn't even had an interest in girls after that. He didn't want his heart to be played with like that again. He seen many of the Harmonic Convergence air benders get their tattoos. He had instructed them in every way possible, but today felt different. He knew what tomorrow was and he wasn't liking the sound of it.

"Kai you want to do something tomorrow with us?" One of the other airbenders asked

"No, I'm busy."

"Come on Kai, it's not like there is anything that is more important than fun. You should know that." The airbender replied

Kai spun on his heels and the airbender instantly knew what tomorrow was, it was the fourth anniversary of Jinora's death. "You should get moving along." Kai stared at him as he walked away.

He walked into Jinora's room which had become the place he went to for silence, no one dared come in without his permission, even Tenzin. He had blown several people through Ikki's door which was directly across the hall.

He sat down and like most any day had removed the extra layer he wore, even after all these years he still held a part of her close. He had accepted that he would not see her until he too died. After her death all he lived for was to find her, but now that was gone, he had no hope.

* * *

"Hey Mako" Kai sat down at Bolin's dinner table for what seemed like the first time in forever. He had been there 2 years ago on this day and drank until he passed out, then he drank some more. That day he had tried to drown his sorrows for one last time, it didn't work. He never got drunk after that, he would get a buzz, but never drunk.

He had a small dinner and then went to bed. There was going to be storm tomorrow and he wanted to be able to weather it.

* * *

Kai Woke up and went through the day as usual, except for the storm nothing interesting happened. He didn't show up at dinner though. Which for him, even on the anniversary, was unusual. Tenzin got up to go look for him.

* * *

Kai was sitting on the top of a building in Republic City staring out at the city, a full moon was shining bright as the rain pelted down. _Great Yue is going to see this, I feel terrible._

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace that had belonged to Jinora the inscription was the embodiment of airbending. He tied the robe that had belonged to her to it and placed his new glider which was made up ultra-lightweight metal on top.

He looked up at the moon and bowed to it, he didn't know why he did, but he did. Then he felt the wind flow by him as he stood on the edge. He took a breath and then jumped.

* * *

Tenzin came into Jinora's room and saw something on the neatly done bed. He went over to see what it was. A note. He read it and then took off leaving it on the floor and rushing out past his family who was eating dinner. He blew bowls and glasses across the table covering Mako and Meelo in food and drinks.

Mako was dumbfounded by what had just happened he quickly cleaned up and went upstairs to see why Tenzin had taken off so abruptly. He found it and came downstairs. "We have to find him." Mako's hard façade was crumbling and tears were beginning rolling down his cheeks.

* * *

Tenzin was looking for Kai feverishly. He could not find him and then he saw a shape launch itself off a building and assume a lotus position.

* * *

Kai cleared his head and made peace with the world. He didn't care what would happen, he couldn't bare the thought of not being with Jinora.

* * *

Jinora had found him with her necklace on the roof. She was doing a nightly check on Kai, it was part of her ritual that she did while in prison. That necklace had an inscription that she was fond of, but she had never managed to complete it due to this boy.

Let go of your earthly tether

Enter the void

Empty and become wind.

~Guru Laghima

Her heart was crushed when she put 2 and 2 together. He was going to die and see that she was perfectly fine except for being chained in a prison cell.

She snapped back to her body and looked down at the ground. Blood stains, dirt, grime, and food littered the floor of her cell. She focused on the corner were her thin blanket was, that was the only remotely clean part of her cell. She just crawled up and cried her eyes out before falling asleep.

* * *

Tenzin closed his eyes, he couldn't watch what was going to happen. When he didn't hear any screams or gasps he opened his eyes slowly. _Maybe he slowed himself with airbending Tenzin was hopeful that Kai had changed his mind at the last second as he opened his eyes_.

Kai was sitting there, mere inches above the ground, floating. He slowly opened his own eyes as felt the air stop rushing by. _I'm dead? This doesn't feel like dead, wait how do you know what dead would feel like?_

He finally looked around to see several people looking at him with looks of horror and shock. He quickly got up when he saw a police car racing over. He went to stand but never felt the ground. _The fuck? He was lost in the thought_.

He then got snapped back when the siren yelped again. He took off upwards to the shock of many. He wasn't airbending by the normal ways, but rather gracefully floating up.

The metalbenders got out of their car and came over to see him floating up. One tried to snag him with a wire, but it was brushed away by a gentle gust of wind from a source which nobody could see.

* * *

Tenzin looked up and saw Kai going up to the roof, no airbending. _Did he just? What the Vaatu is going on? It can't be, he is too connected to the world what could make him-_ Tenzin stopped his thoughts for a moment _, Jinora, he had finally accepted what many had assumed he never would._

Kai went onto the roof and grabbed what he had left on it. He looked up at the moon and the stars. "Thank you" He said looking at the moon. He would swear he saw a trio come down and bless his spirit as he turned to leave.

* * *

He stood on the edge of the building, finally figuring out how to control his flying, at least a little. He let the rain pelt his skin absorbing its energy as he looked out at the city.

His view of it had changed in a few short minutes. Instead of a place that constantly took his hope away and reminded him of her constantly and drove him crazy he now saw something else. A new world. He saw a place that gave him hope, people lived peacefully here. He saw reminders of her everywhere, but they gave him a new resolve. He would look for proof that she was gone.

* * *

"In the darkest times hope is something you give yourself"

~ Iroh

* * *

Kai landed on Air Temple Island where he found a group sitting in the radio room waiting for any news on his whereabouts.

"Hey" He walked up and grabbed Ikki's shoulder.

"KAI! YOU'RE ALIVE!" She screamed pulling him into a hug. He hadn't realized how much of a big brother he had become to her.

"Yes, I am. Yes, I am." He repeated himself slowly.

Mako pulled him into a tight hug after Ikki had let go. "Don't you EVER. I mean EVER! Do that again." Mako had tears rolling down his face. No one made fun of his emotions though as they were all doing the same.

* * *

Tenzin came back to the island when he saw the flare that was launched up. It was a bright yellow, come home.

Tenzin walked up to the main part of the temple where people were gathered around Kai telling him never to do such a thing again and asking why he did.

"Kai" Tenzin was happy he was alive but had 1 simple question. "Did you really do it?" Kai looked at him and then nodded.

"Do what?" Opal asked cautiously.

"You didn't tell them or show them?" Tenzin asked noticing Kai was still holding his glider on his back.

"No" Kai looked at the ground sheepishly.

"Bro what is it." Bolin asked

"Well it is hard to explain, but I uh I." He stuttered

"Well then we'll do it tomorrow, you look like you need some sleep." As Tenzin finished lighting snapped in the background followed by a loud boom from the following thunder.

"Ok I'll try to get some." Kai walked off to his room.

* * *

He went out to put the necklace back Jinora's old room later that night and heard something from Ikki's room. He didn't even want to know what she was doing, he had a good assumption though.

* * *

 **A/N: Chapter 5 will go up after i get back from my bike ride, 2-3 hours past 0900 PST. So be ready for that, and until then please rate and review.**


	5. Chapter 5: Spirituality Part II

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **Chapter 5: Spirituality Part II**

* * *

Kai woke up and came down to the small dining area in the house feeling better already.

"Kai did you see Ikki up by chance?" Tenzin asked as he came down.

"Uh no I don't think she was up yet." Kai was still sleepy.

"Well can you go get her then? Today is going to be a day off, but she still can't sleep in." Tenzin was being stern.

"Ok I'll be back." Kai turned around and knocked on Ikki's door, no answer.

"Ikki if you don't open it I'm going to come in." All he heard was a grumble

"Ok I'm coming in." He opened the door and immediately got an air gust thrown at him.

He just looked on in shock, he had blocked the attack, but that wasn't why he was shocked. He saw Ikki's boyfriend, one of the acolytes, laying in her bed with clothes strewn across the floor. If her naked body was any indication they had had some fun during the night.

"Kai get out!" She yelled. He backed out, shut the door and began to laugh his ass off. Even he thought of Ikki as a little innocent girl.

"Kai is everything alright?" Tenzin had heard the commotion and was concerned.

"Yeah" Kai had regained his composure and came down the stairs. Trying to look convincing for his next line he dawned a face of embarrassment. "I walked in on her changing." He had fake embarrassment on his face, it was the least he could do for her. She had kept some of his and Jinora's moments from her father and he was paying her back for all of them right here.

"Oh, that would explain her yelling then." Tenzin looked at his food "We'll just pretend that never happened then and go on."

"Agreed"

Ikki came down and scowled at him but then realized that her father was quite calm. She smiled knowing that Kai had lied to him.

* * *

Kai walked out to the courtyard where he was supposed to show all of team avatar his newfound ability. On his way out he was stopped by Ikki.

"Thanks" she said

"No problem, but next time you should keep quiet. If he had walked down the hallway…" He trailed off

"I knew it! You were the one that made the board creak!" Ikki looked at him furiously.

"I was putting something away, you're the one who nearly got caught. I had half a mind to get your father." Kai saw her look down.

"Oh so you did hear most of it then?" She was now embarrassed.

"Yes, now next time go somewhere else or I won't be so merciful." Ikki smiled and gave him a hug.

* * *

They walked into the courtyard and saw a group sitting around talking and waiting for Kai. Mako, Bolin, Opal and Korra were standing off to the left talking amongst themselves. Lin, Pema, Tenzin, Bumi, Kya and Katara were catching up since they hadn't talked to each other for quite some time. Ikki took off and joined Meelo and Rohan, who were on an air scooter and an ice board respectively, racing around the courtyard. Kai smiled as he made his way up to the top of the temple.

"Okay I'm here." He yelled down.

"I don't like the look of this." Lin had her wires ready to catch him as she had read the report from her officers.

"We are ready Kai." Tenzin yelled back, everyone else looked on not knowing what he was going to do.

Kai didn't know if he wanted to do it or not, he wanted to be treated normally around the temple instead of as some great leader. If he didn't do it though Lin would surely spread a rumor and eventually he would have to do it. So he made a decision he jumped off in a back flip, glider still on his back and levitated himself in mid-air with his new ability.

Korra and Lin had a chills run down their spines and everyone else looked on in shock. "Whoa" Rohan said slowing down on his ice board.

* * *

He had heard that only 2 people had ever flown before and 1 was a terrorist who used the Air Nation as leverage. He remembered Otaku telling the story of the Northern Air Temple. His father, Aunt, and Uncle had stayed back to give them more time to escape and his father had been holding off 3 master benders after his Aunt and Uncle had been knocked off the temple.

He also remembered how Otaku had said that Kai had taken it upon himself to give everyone more time. He had flown right into harms was multiple times to give them a chance to escape. Otaku had said Jinora had looked terrible when he fell. Rohan was too young to remember the exact moments, but he did remember his sister crying.

Rohan had always looked up to Kai not just as a brother, but as a hero. He had done the most selfless thing he could have that day, he put his own skin on the line to give those he loved a chance to live. Rohan admired him for that.

When he heard the story of the day his sister had died he was inspired again. Kai had fought through the pain and refused medical attention until they were on the way home.

Now here he was, the third person in history to fly. Rohan was in awe.

Kai came down and looked at Korra. "I'm sorry if this brings back any bad memories." He chose his words carefully.

"Don't worry Kai." The waver in her voice was a dead giveaway though.

"I need to talk to him though." Kai was looking at his boots knowing what the response was likely to be.

"Why?" Korra questioned

"Well he knows how it works, he has had it for nearly 9 years." Kai was expecting harsh words back but he got something unexpected.

"I'll make the arraignments." Tenzin said grabbing his gilder. "Be ready to leave when I get back." With that he took off to talk to Raiko. He was a popular president and had been reelected a few times.

"Kai that is cool!" Rohan interrupted the seriousness. "Can you take me for a flight? PLEASE!" Rohan was begging with big eyes. _Just like Jinora's Kai thought._

"Sure so long as you mother approves." He looked up at Pema who just nodded.

"Thank you mom." Rohan gave her a hug and then dragged Kai out into the main training area.

* * *

"Come on Kai" Rohan was pulling Kai along behind him as they came out into the main training area.

"I'm right here, you don't need to drag me." Kai protested

"I just want to go fly with you." Rohan said it for what seemed like the tenth time.

"I know, but we have to be careful." Kai was sounding more mature than usual.

He would never be able to forgive himself for making Tenzin and Pema lose 2 of their children on his watch. He had a flashback to the day the triad had kidnapped Rohan. Before that he had been too drunk to walk in a straight line, but suddenly he had felt a shift in his chi and he was fighting like an expert. There was only 1 other time when he had felt that, the day Jinora had died. He still had no explanation for it.

He shuddered at his memories and then got back to the present. Living in the past was not a good lifestyle.

"Come on let's go." Rohan jumped onto Kai's back and Kai grabbed his gilder even though he didn't need it.

They flew for about 30 minutes before arriving a small pond outside of town. Kai had memories here to, that night when he and Jinora had gone on their first official date was here. He knew Rohan would like the area, but not for the same reasons she would.

"Whoa! This is sooooo cool." Rohan said as they came to the ground.

"Yes that is why the wind carried us here." It wasn't all a lie, they had followed the general flow of the air currents and ended up here, Kai had just pulled off when he saw the place.

"I'm going to go swim!" Rohan announced as he jumped in still fully dressed, but he was a waterbender so he didn't mind.

"That probably is a…good idea." Kai thought it out for a second a little water wouldn't hurt, besides he hadn't had a good swim in a long time.

They swam for about an hour before they hopped out, Kai wasn't tired but he wanted to keep an eye on Rohan.

"Can you tell me a story?" Rohan asked as he looked up at the mid-day clouds moving across the sky.

Kai caught his gaze. "Sure, and this is about your grandparents and clouds."

* * *

"So Avatar Aang and Master Katara then moved the clouds to form the symbol of destruction over the village. They got everyone out and Aang eventually stopped the lava a massive air blast." Kai finished the story.

"Why didn't he lavabend it like Bobo? (His nickname for Bolin)" Rohan was amazed that his grandpa had saved an entire town form destruction.

"Well he didn't even know how to earthbend at that point. In fact he barely knew waterbending." Kai had remembered how he had asked Jinora that same question when she told him the story.

"I thought the avatar could bend all the elements?" Rohan was thinking aloud.

"They can, but they must first unlock the ability with training. The only avatar I can remember who could bend the other elements without the avatar state before learning the basic forms was Korra." Kai looked at Rohan who was having an epiphany. "Although your sister told me she couldn't airbend until Amon took her bending away."

"Really?" Rohan shocked

"Yes, in fact she later told Jinora that your grandpa gave her some good advice." Kai had started to look at the clouds again.

"What was it?" Rohan asked

"What? Oh it was something I don't think you would get." Kai wasn't prepared for the question.

"Come on, please" He begged

"Fine" Kai had caved alas although he was thinking Rohan would get very little out of it at his current age. "He said "When we hit our lowest point, we are open to our greatest change."" Kai was expecting just a nod or something but he was surprised at the response he got.

"So like you when you got the ability to fly?" It was an innocent question and Kai knew that he knew no better.

In fact Kai agreed with him it was exactly what had happened, he had opened his world up, he made peace and calm surround him. He was going to die in peace and calm. He never realized that in doing so he had let go of his earthly tether. By accepting what would happen he had unknowingly let go of his earthly tether.

"Yea, yea. Exactly like that." He spoke slowly.

* * *

 **A/N: This took longer to upload then i thought, i had an idea pop into my head an i had to get it down before i lost it.**


	6. Chapter 6: Prison Life (Jinora POV)

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own anything.**

 **A/N: Here we go for another weekend, here come the upload(s). Thank you for the reviews. This chapter idea came from a certain reader (you know who you are) and this chapter we'll follow Jinora during her prison time. This chapter will skip years and months a lot so each break will have a time.**

 **Chapter 6: Prison Life**

* * *

 **3 days after capture**

Jinora sat in her cell wondering why they hadn't chained her up. It had been a week since she had been thrown in here. She had spent her first 3 days trying to get help. However she soon found out that her projection wasn't being seen, as if she didn't exist. She had settled into a routine, wake up, eat, exercise, eat, meditate, eat, and check on Kai, then every now and then there would be a torture session thrown in, but if they wanted to break this airbender they were going to need more than what they were doing, cutting her body with knives, throwing rocks at her, and trying hypnosis barely had an effect on her.

* * *

 **~3 Weeks after Capture**

She was there at Kai's mastery ceremony, it was grand. People from all over had shown up to give thanks to the newest airbending master. He was even approached by several pretty girls, very pretty Jinora noted, who flirted with him, but he refused all of them.

She followed him to her room, she had found him in there many times when she went to check on him, and as he cried she couldn't help but cry to. She was so close, but yet so far. So she did what she could that would easy her emotions, she crawled in next to him, but he never felt her there.

* * *

 **Parallels Chapter 3**

She had come to watch the class Kai was teaching. Every day since his ceremony, except the day after, he had taught this class of airbenders giving her father a break. He had been sad, but he had a job to do, Kai didn't, so in some ways this was good.

She watched the young man she loved teach the class for hours on end, thank Raava to because she was missing torture sessions.

She came back one day to find Kai drunk off ass and then Rohan got kidnapped. _What he Vaatu Kai, if you were drunk he would be- holy shit! She thought as Kai somehow came out of his drunken stupor and sent the man flying back and freed Rohan. I knew there was a reason I loved you._

* * *

 **8 weeks after capture**

It had been 8 weeks, still no way for her to make contact, and thus they called off the search for her. It was sad attending her own funeral, the faces on her friends, family, and her lover. They burnt the last thing that she had worn, a part of her wingsuit, and sent it off into the wind to float on the air currents for an eternity.

* * *

 **6 months after capture**

She was sitting in her cell waiting for her morning meal, and then she waited some more, then some more. So she decided to go check the outside of her cell and the kitchen. _Great they are going to try and starve me._

She waited in vain for the next 3 days for food or water. So she did the next best thing, she got nutrition form the universe. _Thank Raava I listen to my dad's stories. She thought._

She didn't get food and she got very little water for that next year, and she had lost weight, but the universe sensed her distress and fed her well. She didn't know how she managed it, but she did. She never once gave up hope that someone would come to her rescue, she could take a good guess at who it would be though.

She told herself that she wouldn't let anyone know about this, at least not until she died or word got out.

* * *

 **1.5 years after capture**

After her year of not giving her any food the Dai Li gave up and Jinora knew she had won not only the battle, but the war, if she made it through that there was nothing to stop her except death, and she was too valuable a prisoner for them to do that to and she knew it.

* * *

 **Parallels chapter 4 and 5**

She followed her routine until a day 4 years after she had been taken, actually it was exactly 4 years after, but she had no sense of time really all she knew is she had get out of this hellhole soon.

She found Kai on top of a building in the city. _Why are you up here? She wondered._

She saw him place some things on the ground. _Is that my? NO! KAI IF YOU- NOOOOOOOOO! That was all she could think after seeing her necklace on the roof and her beloved jump off the building._

She came back to her body in an instant and cried, and she didn't stop until the morning came and she got punishment for being a weakling. She knew that she could give up though, even if he was dead she needed to live so her family could have her back.

She finally got the courage to check on everyone the next day. She saw everyone standing in the courtyard and Kai up on the roof. All she could think was that he was fine, and then he jumped, she felt her heart leap out of her body and he stomach churn. Then nothing happened and he was floating. She was amazed, never had she thought that he would be able to fly, but here he was.

That night she went to bed with a smile.

* * *

 **A few weeks after chapter 5**

She was eating her lunch on a normal day, well as normal a day one can have when torture could happen at any moment. Then as she pushed her tray towards the door she sensed something coming, and indeed something did. 2 Dai Li rushed in and subdued her, then a third came in and with a rather dull knife cut a section of her hair out. "Be glad I know it's futile to try to escape." She muttered under her breath, she would be glad if she got a chance to bash some of these idiots' skulls.

* * *

 **A/N: So that is Jinora's side of the story so far. For those who are confused by how she survived a year by getting her energy off the universe that is a throwback to season 3 when Tenzin is telling a story of a guru who didn't eat for 98 days (or was it 96?).**

 **Please rate and review.**

 **Thank you for reading**


	7. Chapter 7: Zaheer

**A/N: So this is it, we are going to see Zaheer today.**

Chapter 7: Zaheer

* * *

Kai and Rohan were on their way home after their afternoon at the pond, or rather Kai was on his way back while carrying a sleeping Rohan. Kai had given up flying using a gilder after the first 2 attempts had failed miserably. Now he was using his flying to get around, he was pretty bad at it though. He figured Zaheer had read just about every book on Guru Laghima and had a pretty good idea of how exactly to control it.

He flew over Republic City and got a few looks from those on the ground. Most figured it was just an airbender using some form that was rarely seen, they weren't half wrong of course. A few knew what it was though and were mesmerized by the sight.

Kai flew across the bay and landed in the courtyard, then he realized his mistake. _Shit everyone just saw me fly in, how stupid am I? He thought._

"Whoa Kai are you flying?" "You can fly?" "Did you just fly?" He was being bombarded by questions, but he had one answer that would quiet most.

"Quiet or you'll wake him." He was of course gesturing to the sleeping Rohan he was holding

He walked to the house and put Rohan in bed. After he made sure that Rohan was taken care of he went to Jinora's room and began to meditate. _Maybe if I meditate I can find something useful._

He sat for hours until Tenzin walked in, albeit cautiously.

* * *

"Hello Tenzin." Kai didn't even open up his eyes to check if he was right, only one person turned the doorknob like that.

"Hello Kai, I just got back from meeting with president Raiko. He said tomorrow we will be able to go see Zaheer." There was a long pause. "Are you sure you want to?" Tenzin knew that it might be his only choice but he didn't want him to feel that way.

"Do I have another choice, it isn't like I can go call up Guru Laghima and ask." Tenzin opened his mouth to talk before Kai cut him off. "And yes I already tried, what do you think I was doing for the past 4 hours."

"Well you could still read about him." Tenzin knew that Kai only absorbed knowledge from experience or when Jinora had read to him nowadays that left 1 option.

"You already know I'm going to talk to him Tenzin. There is no other way I can do it." Kai was still meditating

"Ok then, very well." He turned to leave. "Oh by the way dinner is ready." With that Kai got up and followed Tenzin downstairs.

* * *

Kai saw that everyone was sitting at the table. Rohan was messing with his soup using his waterbending, and Meelo was playing with Poki.

"Hey Kai" Korra was in between bites of her food.

"Hey" Kai grabbed a plate and shoveled on some food.

"Are you sure you want to talk to him?" Korra knew that it was his only choice but still didn't want him to go.

"Like I said to Tenzin, I don't have a choice. If anyone knows about it he does." Kai looked across the room.

"We have your back." Mako said

"Thanks" Kai looked around the room and then spoke again. "I know that if Jinora was here she would want me to use this to its fullest."

Everyone gave a silent nod, very rarely did Kai mention Jinora on purpose in a regular conversation. It just hurt too much.

* * *

"Ok let's go!" Bolin was enthusiastic.

"Calm down there is nothing fun about going to see a terrorist. The only reason we are going is because he is useful to us." Mako was changing the mood.

"Ok let's stop arguing all I need to do is ask him a few questions and then leave." Kai interjected. Everyone stopped arguing, however it did gain a few brow raises.

* * *

The airship pulled up to the prison area that was holding Zaheer and they disembarked.

A White Lotus guard stepped up and began to speak. "We are only permitted to let Master Tenzin, Master Kai and The Avatar past this point."

"Ok" Kai knew it was going to be a small group.

"Weapons?" The man asked

"None on me." Tenzin replied, Korra pulled out a water satchel and Kai pulled out full size fixed blade knife and several smaller throwing knives.

"Do you always carry those?!" Tenzin was in complete shock; airbenders traditionally didn't carry weapons, although he was looking at the first airbender ever to get his tattoos through combat.

"Yes. I learned from your brother. Did you know he can hit a cabbage from 50 yards with a knife?" Kai knew Tenzin didn't approve but he didn't really care.

"Yes I did know that." Tenzin grumbled knowing whatever he said to Kai was going to be useless.

"Is that it?" The White Lotus officer asked

"Oh gilders!" Kai exclaimed as he handed his over, Tenzin did the same.

* * *

They walked down to the cell and then stood at the big doors.

"Are you sure about this?" Korra asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, I'm sure." Kai signaled for the doors to be opened.

They descended to the cell and Kai walked into the double security door. They guards closed their side and opened the other.

Kai took a breath and then stepped in. There he was, he was floating in the middle of the room meditating. Kai sat down and waited for Zaheer to finish.

* * *

 **~1 hour later**

"He's been in there for an hour, we need to check on him." Korra begged

"No I'm sure everything is fine Korra. Kai would signal if he needed help." Tenzin was trying to teach Korra patience which she still had very little of.

* * *

"Thank you" Kai was about to leave when Zaheer mentioned another thing.

"So you said your earthly tether was a girl right?" He was sitting in his chains.

"Yes, I…I lost her in a fight a few years ago." Kai didn't know Zaheer that well, but he also knew that he was wise and probably had a method to his madness.

"Was she the eldest daughter of Tenzin?" Kai cocked an eyebrow. _How does he know?_

"Yes" Kai sat back down where he had been at previously.

"She isn't dead." Zaheer stated coolly.

"How do you know?" Kai retorted

"Because I spend hours in the spirit world each day. I notice everyone that comes and goes. You were there yesterday looking for Guru Laghima if I recall correctly." His last line interested Kai even more.

"Go on" Kai urged

"Well she has been there more often over the past few years. In fact I felt a strange presence the year before that. Then one day I felt the presence and saw her talking to a spirit in the realm of Koh." Kai was even more intrigued.

"I finally figured out that the strange presence was her, but for some reason I could never see her. I am thinking that she is being held prisoner somewhere. Somewhere that has very bad spiritual energy. Thus she couldn't be seen until she figured out a way around it."

"Like a radio booster?" Kai asked

"Kind of, but even the spirits have a hard time figuring it out. I asked every single one, not even Koh the Face Stealer had an answer. He does however have a possible location." Kai's body perked up, Zaheer noticed and continued.

"It is on one of the small islands in fire nation territory, Koh didn't tell me the exact spot though."

"Thank you for everything Zaheer." Kai gave the signal to the guards and left the room.

* * *

"Oh good you're fine." Korra looked like she had been sweating bullets.

"Why do look distressed?"

"I…I…I wasn't distressed…I just uh." Korra was struggling for an excuse.

"She thought Zaheer was going to hurt you or something." Tenzin said before Korra could cut him off.

"Well I got big news." Kai interjected before a fight erupted. "I did learn how to control my flying better, but also I have reason to believe that Jinora is alive."

Tenzin and Korra exchanged a look of disbelief, no way was she alive. Even Tenzin had lost hope of her being alive, although his mother had said that he shouldn't give up hope. They remained quiet until Korra spoke.

"Are you sure he wasn't lying? I mean come on he is a criminal." Korra was arguing with Kai on the elevator ride up.

"No I am certain he was being honest. He has no reason to lie anyways."

"I agree, he is most likely being truthful." Tenzin stated, gaining a little hope that his daughter was alive.

"Ok assuming he is telling the truth how are we going to find her? Not like we have a location."

"We have a general area, the islands in the Fire Nation."

"That's helpful." Korra said with more sarcasm then even Sokka could ever manage. "Where are we going to start?"

"Easy, we look at the uninhabited ones first and then work our way to the most inhabited ones. I doubt they would put it on a heavily populated island, but they would want it to be easy for supplies to get in and out. Maybe it is on an unhabituated island near a heavily populated island." Kai pointed out

"That is a very good idea Kai. I'll notify Lord Zuko and get a group together to help the search. You 2 gather those you trust the most and meet us at the Fire Nation Capital." Tenzin ordered

"Ok" Korra and Kai said in unison.

"Your weapons." A few guards handed over their weapons.

Kai hid his knives again and put his gilder on his back, Korra strapped the satchel back on, and Tenzin just grabbed his gilder while shaking his head at Kai's loadout.

* * *

"Ok sounds like a plan!" Bolin said after being informed of the plan.

"We should get going then." Mako said.

Kai looked up and asked the spirits for help in finding Jinora.

* * *

 **A/N: So Kai got some important info from Zaheer on Jinora's location, you can take a guess at the next few chapters are going to be on.**

 **Please Rate and Review.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Fire Nation

**Sorry for the one chapter this week, just with the Super Bowl and mountain biking I have been very busy. I promise there will be compensation for it later.**

Chapter 8: The Fire Nation

* * *

The airship was flying back towards Air Temple Island as Kai stood on the deck looking out at the horizon thinking about his future, wait no, his and Jinora's future, if she was alive still.

"Hey" Mako leaned against the railing next to Kai.

"Hey" Kai replied

"So…You got a plan?" Mako was trying to make small talk.

"Not really" Kai stood up taller and looked at the older boy. "I'm flying by the seat of my pants right now."

"I know what you mean." Mako muttered

"Yeah, I never thought I would end up here. On the streets I was always concerned about my next meal, not my plan of attack."

"I know what you mean, when Bolin and I were on the streets I tried to provide for him as well as I could. I would come back to the alleyway we were staying in for the night with a few scraps of food, some money and if I got lucky, a blanket."

"Be glad you had someone. I was always on my own. I had a few friends, if you could call them that, but they would stab me in the back for a couple yuans." Kai hadn't revealed this to anyone except Jinora, but he figured if Mako was doing so he should to.

"Well I always felt lucky having a brother. When I was sick he could work just enough to get us by. I really think that if I didn't have a brother I wouldn't have turned out this way." Mako paused and looked out at the bay.

"He was the one who was into pro-bending, if it weren't for him we would still be on the streets. If I had been solo I would have joined a gang and probably be dead by now." Mako shuddered at the thought.

"You know it was you guys that kept me going." Kai had never revealed this to anyone, not even Jinora.

"Really?!" Mako was surprised to say the least.

"Yeah. You guys had a background similar to mine and were successful. I only felt downed because I couldn't bend. Once I got airbending I thought I should try to make the most of it…Then you guys showed up." Kai looked down in shame leaning on the rail once more.

"I didn't know what to do…so I just went back to what I was doing. I felt terrible afterwards. I let you down, I let Tenzin down, I let Korra down, I let Asami down, and I let Jinora down." Kai sighed

"I didn't know if you would even take my back… but I am glad you guys did, if you hadn't I wouldn't be ready for this." Kai pulled out a small necklace that had a circular piece of metal hanging down with an Air Nomad insignia etched into it.

"Is…is that a…no…Tenzin won't approve!" Mako stammered

"Yes it is, and I am certain he will approve." Kai had a smirk on his face.

"50 yuans says he doesn't." Mako betted

"Deal!" Kai shook Mako's hand.

"Now where is my 50 yuans?" Kai asked as Mako began to walk away.

"We just made the bet Kai." Mako was unamused

"Yeah, and Tenzin approved it a while ago, but we never thought we would see her again." An evil grin crossed Kai's face at how he had just bested Mako, but it turned into a frown at the mention of Jinora.

"I am going to hurt you if you do that again." Mako grumbled taking money out of his wallet.

"Eh, had worse threats." Kai shrugged as he put the money in his pocket.

* * *

The airship landed rather quickly, almost too fast Kai noticed. He walked off and saw a group of advanced airbenders dressed in wingsuits getting ready to load their stuff.

"Okay, get your gear on the airship. We are leaving for the Fire Nation at 1500 hours." Bumi was giving orders to the group.

"Kai" Tenzin had walked up beside him. "Grab what you need, we are leaving in 2 hours." Kai nodded and went to his room.

* * *

He walked in packed his clothes and then went over to his bed.

He slid it to the side revealing a loose floorboard. He lifted the board up and pulled out a bag. He poured the contents onto the floor. The contents included a bag of gold coins he had picked up over the years, a notebook that he would write in from time to time, and a huge assortment of knives.

He put everything except the knives back in the bag and made his room look as it had before he moved the bed. He spread out the knives on the bed and walked over to the closet where he pulled out his wingsuit and put the knives into a lightweight harness that Asami had built for him.

He heard a commotion below and then he recognized the voices, Tenzin, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan. He listened and then heard something about them coming. He got up and walked downstairs to intervene.

"Ahem" Kai walked in during a heated moment.

"Oh, Kai…We were just discu-" Tenzin began

"No, you were talking about who would or wouldn't go. Now who wants to go that can't?" Kai figured it was Rohan who wanted to go but he wanted to be sure.

"Me!" Rohan shouted

"No Rohan, you are barely 9. Not to mention you still have a lot of waterbending to learn." Rohan furrowed his brows at Kai.

"I can fight better than Meelo!" Rohan shouted back. That was true, Meelo was a…unusual fighter and Kai knew Rohan could take him in a fight.

"I know you can, but these people managed to take your sister down." Rohan looked over at Ikki, she had never mentioned being taken out in a fight. Kai caught his gaze and spoke again.

"No, your other sister." He shivered as he said it and Rohan visibly shuddered.

"Re…really?" Rohan spoke very weakly.

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Now for everyone's sake please stay here and help your mother, we will return." Kai was being very stern, almost father-like Tenzin noted.

"Fine" Rohan marched out of the room.

"Thank you Kai." Tenzin gave him a pat on the back. "He never listens to me."

"He seems to listen to me." Kai laughed a little.

"Well I can see you will be a great man one day…and a great father." Kai looked at Tenzin and just nodded, Tenzin never showed that much affection for Kai.

"I have to go finish packing." Kai said while bowing before he left.

He packed his knives very carefully, making sure that they were all in their normal positions and then he grabbed a few extra robes. However as he was about to close up his backpack he remembered something, Jinora. He threw a few extra robes in so _if_ they found her she could be in something comfortable.

* * *

Not much had happened on the flight to the Fire Nation, although Bolin had nearly turned half the ship into a crumpled mess, all over a piece of cake that Mako had eaten but to be fair the cake did have a very clear note stating that it was Bolin's and no one else's.

Kai had meditated and used his newfound alone time to center himself.

Kai had walked off the airship next to Tenzin and Korra in the front row. _Never thought I would be here he thought._

They bowed and then Korra and Tenzin walked off with Zuko and Izumi to catch up while the airbenders walked towards their quarter's being escorted by a few guards. Meanwhile team avatar got the royal treatment, quite literally as they were shown their quarters by Iroh.

"Are you 2 paying attention?" Asami asked

"What?" They said in unison

"I guess not." She looked at Iroh. "Looks like you'll have to repeat yourself."

"Sorry" Mako apologized

"Well you all know me, but this is the person that will be helping you with whatever you need." Iroh was gesturing to a very pretty girl dressed in garb that suited a noble more than a servant.

"I'm Mako"

"And I'm Kai, by the way did you know that Mako here is single?" Mako glared at Kai and Bolin flashed a smile.

"I'm Jing Jeong but most people call me Jing. Nice to meet you, and no I did not know that."

"Wait are you related to Master Jeong Jeong, Avatar Aang's first firebending master?" Kai had heard Jinora talk about Jeong Jeong once in a while.

"Yes, you must be well read."

"Well…no…it was my girlfriend that read, I just listened." Kai felt a twinge of sadness.

"Oh, did you 2 break up or something?" Jing didn't know the story.

"No, she is the reason we are here." Kai was solemn "I failed and that is why she isn't here right now."

The whole group looked down suddenly very interested in their shoes, Kai looked up and saw it.

"You know, I really don't care if you guys say it isn't my fault and feel bad for bringing up the subject, the fact is I didn't keep a promise and she got hurt because of it… Besides it was my mission. MY MISSION, I DRAGGED HER INTO THAT MESS, I DID. DESPITE WHAT YOU WERE TOLD SHE ONLY WENT BECAUSE I WANTED HER TO! I AM THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THIS!" Kai was seething now and had made a tornado around them.

Silence fell for a few seconds before Kai spoke.

"I'll be back." He jumped up and flew off leaving the group in shocked silence.

* * *

He flew to a secluded area outside the capitol and began to practice airbending. He threw powerful blasts at his surroundings, he was getting his anger and pent up rage out, every last bit of it.

After the area was comprehensibly destroyed he fell to his knees and began to cry. Then he smelled something odd in the air, _was that? Shit!_

* * *

"He left hours ago, he should have come back by now, not even he would be gone this long." Opal argued

"Well then where is he?" Tenzin asked concern on his voice.

"We don't know, what we told you is all we know. He got angry and most likely went off to relieve his anger into some rocks." Opal spoke again

"Well that doesn't give much help…I'll get the airbenders to get on the bison and search."

"I'll put the guards on alert." Zuko stated

"Hey look!" Bolin was riding on Juicy with Opal, Mako, and Jing, who had come along as their guide, and they all turned their heads to see a leveled area in the direction Bolin was pointing.

"Be ready for anything." Mako said as they touched down.

The group fanned out, Mako and Jing followed a trail of twisted trees and disfigured rocks while Opal and Bolin checked the landing area for evidence of Kai's whereabouts.

"Over here!" Jing shouted as she came around a corner.

"Holy shit!" Mako exclaimed.

He saw a field covered in red, bodies wearing black robes laid across the field, some in pieces, others with deep gashes. Laying at the base of a hill was a figure wearing red and orange.

Jing looked as if she was going to vomit, which she did as they got closer to the base of the hill. Mako ignored the bloodbath and ran to Kai's side, he was holding a lock of hair in his left hand. He was unconscious, but Mako noticed that he had a heartbeat and was breathing.

"Kai!" Mako shook him, nothing.

"We need to get him to a healer, NOW!" Mako picked Kai up and threw him over his shoulder running back towards the bison.

"Wait, I have something faster!" Jing pulled out a whistle and blew hard into it.

"Now isn't the time fo-okay that is faster" Mako saw a dragon coming towards them halfway through.

It landed and Jing hopped on. "Get up here!"

Mako jumped on and they flew towards the capitol.

They landed and ran to a healer without explaining anything to anyone besides that Kai was hurt and he needed help.

Tenzin ran into the room followed by Zuko and Izumi. The first thing they noticed was that Mako had blood all over him, Jing was sitting close to Mako in silence, she too was covered in blood, and Kai had a long piece of hair in his hands.

"What happened?!" Zuko was shocked at the sight.

"We don't know, all he has said is Jinora's name over and over again!" Mako hadn't turned to talk but his words still hit home.

Tenzin knelt down and looked at the hair. "Oh my." He took a step back and fell down. "It's hers." He muttered

* * *

The airbenders had returned to the capitol after they heard a horn go off. Several were pacing outside of the hospital waiting for news on Kai's condition while a few went to look for evidence at the battle site. They had been given direct orders from Tenzin to look for any evidence that could lead to where Jinora was.

All they had squeezed out of Kai were the words "Jinora, and Dai Li"

"He is in shock most likely." A doctor said

"No, he knows exactly what he did and why, he is just too focused on her. He was the same way after she disappeared." Tenzin responded

"Well then I have no idea what to do." The doctor said

"Just get him into fighting shape and he will know what needs to be done." Tenzin said, everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok for those of you confused by this turn of events, how Jing Jeong has a dragon I will explain it in another chapter and FYI she is a firebender. The role that she plays was going to be filled by Izumi's daughter, but i decided against it instead going for someone who is new and unknown to the fan base. Besides i couldn't have another Ursa running around (The name i choose for her).**

 **Please Rate and Review**

 **Thank you for reading, have a nice day.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This chapter is mostly filler, sorry that i couldn't make something better on Valentines Day. I hope the next few chapter make up for it though.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra.**

Chapter 9

* * *

"Ahh crap that hurts." Kai complained as Korra extracted a chunk of rock from his leg with earthbending.

"I know. Now shut up and bite down on the Raava forsaken towel!" Korra had given it to him so he could bite down on instead of curse and swear and yell other slurs at her as he had done for the last rock she had extracted.

"Fine" Kai stated as he bit back down onto the cloth and closed his eyes, pain searing up his leg as Korra pulled out the last bits of the rock that had pierced his leg.

"Ok now for the healing." Korra stated as she cracked her knuckles and coated her hands in water.

Kai mumbled something, probably very unairbender like Korra thought, into the gag.

* * *

"Wow. I never thought I would get to see one of these, let alone ride one." Mako stated "Well I guess this is the second one I have seen."

"Yeah most people don't get a chance to see them outside of the capitol, and even rarer, ride one." Jing stated

"Well I am glad you let me ride with you today." Mako said calmly

"Well usually I don't have anyone my age to hang out with." Jing paused and looked out at the sky. "Living in the Capitol is both a blessing and a curse. We always have some big party to go to, lots of free food, but there are not that many teens here. Most of the population is over 40 with the next biggest group being the kids under 13." Jing sighed as she finished

"Well then I guess things could get boring, how many people are your age?" Mako asked

"Well I can count them all with my fingers and toes." Jing replied "What about you? How many people are your age in Republic City?"

"Thousands I suppose, but I mostly hang out with my brother, Korra, Opal, Asami, and Kai."

"Isn't he a bit young to be running around with you guys? I don't mean to be rude but he does seem awfully young to be in that group."

"Yes and no. Physically he is young, 20 that is, but mentally he is older than me." Jing looked at Mako quizzically, he got the hint and went on. "He isn't a genius by any means, but he lived on the streets until Harmonic Convergence. He fought, robbed, and 'borrowed' everything he needed to survive, that is why he is so good at sneaking around. After he became an airbender things happened in Ba Sing Se" Jing made a note to ask about it later. "And he lost some respect among us. Then at the Northern Air Temple he did something that shocked us all." Mako took a deep breath before continuing.

"He took a glider from one of the airbenders and distracted the combustion bender that was pinning down the airbenders. He flew in and out of her line of fire until he was shot down." Jing gasped "We all thought he was dead…even after we found Tenzin beaten and bruised as badly as he was we thought there was no way Kai could have lived."

"What- What happened to Tenzin?" Jing asked, stuttering slightly

Mako sighed, he had mentioned it and now continued with the full story. "Tenzin and his siblings defended the airbenders escape, in doing so Tenzin got beaten terribly, black eye, and bruises up and down his body, cuts, and scrapes, you name the injury odds are he had it." Jing look horrified. "Anyways, as the temple was collapsing Kai came to the rescue on his bison and saved myself, Tenzin, Asami, and Bolin. That got his trust back for us. Four years ago Jinora got taken prisoner by the Dai Li. In fact no one thought she was alive, well at least everyone but Kai, until we found out recently. He matured a lot during that time, more than a person should have to. You saw the woods, there were dead men everywhere. That wasn't the first time he has killed so many people." Jing looked at Mako with the 'you are kidding me right?' look.

"Do I have to go on?" Mako asked with twinge sadness in his voice.

"Only if you want to." Jing stated, she knew it would probably be very hard but it was his choice.

"Ok… When Jinora was captured, he killed them by the dozen. Only a few survived to the end of the battle, and only a few can be found living today. He just went ham. Not even Tenzin tried to stop him. He had at least 50 of them on him if not more. That was all after he got pelted with rocks that would knock a normal man to the ground or kill them, and then he still wasn't done, he jumped into a flaming airship to find her and nearly died himself." Mako wiped a single tear from his eye.

"Wow." Jing breathed "I know this is probably a dumb question, but how is he not scarred?" Jing was honestly curious at that fact.

"Spirit water…that stuff can bring the dead back to life and heal dam near any wound" Mako stated

"Whoa"

"That word doesn't do it justice." Mako stated

There was a long silence before Jing spoke again. "Honestly I never would have expected him to have such a large history. He does strike me as…um…worn, but I never would have thought he would have go through that." Jing felt pity and sadness for Kai, even after all he had done before and the suffering, he had lost the one thing that meant the most to him and that had torn him to pieces as Jing had witnessed.

"Yeah" Mako sighed "In my line of work I learn how to read people, but Kai is unreadable. He doesn't show when he hurts, he just bottles it up and keeps going. After the attack on Republic City we all thought the two of them were going to live happily, even if Tenzin did disapprove. When Jinora disappeared though we all saw him break." Mako paused to regain his composure before continuing.

"It wasn't breaking like after a hard break-up or being tortured in the most inhumane ways, it was like losing a part of yourself and not knowing if you could ever get it back." Mako had a tear roll down his cheek again. He had felt the same after his parent's had died, he lost a part of himself forever that day and knew he would always be incomplete because of it.

"Sorry for stirring up memories." Jing stated as she saw the tear.

"No…I needed this. I have been keeping this all bottled up for too long." Mako couldn't explain what it was but he felt comfortable opening up to Jing about the past, he had never been this open to anyone, EVER.

They sat on the back of the dragon for a long time in silence. They both stared off into the sky, they weren't interested in their surroundings it was more of a mutual understanding that they needed to let things settle down for a little.

Mako broke the silence after several minutes of silence.

"So you never properly introduced me." He stated nonchalantly

"Uh no we had a proper introduction." Jing stated

"I meant the dragon." Mako stated playfully, which surprised him.

"Oh, duh." Jing slapped her forehead. "This is my girl Nowaki." She said as she rubbed the dragon's neck.

"That is an interesting name… How did you find her?" Mako had always wondered how one got a dragon but had never had the time to ask Zuko.

"Well since you told me all that earlier I deserve to tell you this don't I?" She inquired. Mako just nodded.

"Ok."

"It was apparent that I was a firebending prodigy from an early age, so since I was my parents asked Lord Zuko to teach me, my family was on good terms with the Fire Lord and the Avatar due to my great-grandfather's status as Avatar Aang's first firebending teacher, so he accepted. I trained until I was 16 under him, he taught me everything he knew or so I thought, but one day he asked my family if we could go on a trip, I didn't know what it was about, just that I might die on the trip. We went to the far Northern regions of the Fire Nation, almost to the Air Nomad lands up there, and we landed on a tiny island that housed the Sun Warrior's civilization." Mako cut in briefly

"Wait do you mean as in the keepers of firebending?!" He said excitedly

"Yes. Now let me go on. We landed and I was shown to a temple where many people were waiting for us. I went through a trial and got completed it. Upon completion I was deemed worthy to know the secrets of firebending and get a dragon. That is how I met Nowaki, she is the same age as me, down to the second, and I guess you could say we are made for each other." Jing finished patting her dragon softly.

"So you met Ran and Shaw?" Mako asked, he had heard Jinora talk about them on rare occasions, but the conversations were never to leave anyone's lips unless specified otherwise. Dragons were, after all, still endangered.

"Wait how do you know?!" Jing blurted out.

"Well for one you just confirmed it, and for another I live around people who are from Avatar Aang's family and friends."

"Ok I screwed up, please don't tell Zuko." She pleaded

"I wasn't going to say anything in the first place." Mako stated "But we should probably get back before they start to wonder what we are doing, or if we go kidnapped." Jing had a faint blush come across her face.

"Ok" Jing sighed and she began their flight back to the palace

"Random question, but what do you know about firebending?" Mako asked

"Well I can generate lighting of my own free will, I can redirect it, and I can produce green, blue, purple, and orange fire." Jing stated as if it was nothing. Mako's jaw dropped and hung limp for a long time.

"tha-wha…biaoigsa;on…WHAT!" He finally stammered

"Hey you aren't the first person to do that even my family was surprised when I fought the top masters and won, that was my final test to get my mastery and this." Jing pulled up her shirt, much to Mako's surprise, to reveal a tattoo of a phoenix and dragon circling each other that covered her right shoulder blade.

"What is that exactly?" Mako questioned, still slightly shocked, as she dropped her shirt back down.

"It is the two original firebenders, most only know of the dragons however the phoenixes are also original firebenders, and they are older than even the great lion turtles."

"Well you learn something new every day." Mako stated as they landed.

"It was good flying with you."

"Same to you."

The two of them stood there in an awkward silence, both debating what to do next.

"Hey bro!" Bolin yelled from across the courtyard. "Kai is up!"

"Ok I'll be in there in a few." Mako replied "Sorry, siblings." He told Jing apologetically.

"I understand, now go, he is basically your brother." Jing pushed Mako in the direction of the infirmary.

"See you later?" He asked as he walked backwards towards the door.

"Yeah" Jing replied "Now go"

Mako turned around and walked back to the room Kai was in. He was awake and talking, but his face said it all he wasn't saying something. _For once I can read him. Mako thought._

"Kai what is it?" Mako cut the conversation he was having with Opal off.

"Nothing" He looked away as he spoke.

"Kai look at me. What's wrong?" Mako leaned over the bed and forced Kai to look at him by grabbing his chin.

"I…Jinora…" He couldn't form a sentence and just looked down as if he was going to cry.

Mako took a breath, he didn't want to ask but it was all too possible. "Is she dead?" He had a calming tone in his voice that made Kai feel ever so slightly better.

"N-not yet." Kai gulped

"How much longer Kai?" Mako knew it would bring out the sadness, but the whole group needed a deadline.

"Si-six...Six weeks" Kai stammered

Mako just looked at Korra, she was going to need to do her best to get Kai back up and into fighting shape before the deadline ended.

"Do they want anything else?" Zuko asked

"N..no...they are toying with my...my..." Kai couldn't add emotions to his sentence but the message was clear. They wanted to toy with Kai's emotions so he would be useless to the Air Nation, then they would only have a few masters and they would be easy prey for an attack that would to finish what the Fire Nation started nearly 180 years before.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry again for the filler, although this does make an ok recap, in my opinion, of Kai's life. This is a new pairing i'm trying out, i know you all were probably wondering what i was doing adding in more people, now you might be able to catch the drift. I might make another story today for Valentines Day special, most likely T or M rated so keep your eyes peeled.**

 **Also Nowaki is named after the Japanese WW2 era destroyer with the same name, the name means "Fall Gales" but i couldn't find another name that i liked so i choose Nowaki.**

 **Thank you for reading rate and review if you liked!**

 **Have a Nice Day.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

 **2 Weeks later**

Kai got up from his seat at the tea table that over looked the courtyard and sauntered over to the two big fluffy bison that had just landed, and the 6 smaller ones surrounding them, that he cared about out of the large group that had just landed.

"Hey buddy" He rubbed his hand on Lefty's nose and then looked over at Pepper who was busy dealing with babies which would not calm down. "Congrats" Lefty gave a tired grunt, no doubt he had carried them for most of the trip to the Fire Nation.

"Are those baby bison?!" Jing asked excitedly

"Yeah, if you want to see them let me do something first." Kai walked over to Pepper and made some motions and grunts, then Pepper went over to the grassy area where Lefty had laid down and curled up beside him. "Ok all good now." Kai hollered as he sat down among the baby bison.

"Whoa they are so fluffy." Jing stated in awe as she felt one.

"I never thought they could be soft." Mako stated, his hand around Jing's shoulders. His relationship with Jing had gone from knowing each other, to friends, to dating in the matter of 2 weeks; and over that time she had opened him up and made his softness reveal itself.

"Hey where are Korra and Asami? Or Opal and Bolin? They would love this!" Kai stated

"Uh…Korra and Asami went on a lunch date and I have no clue where my brother and Opal are." Mako stated dryly, but there was a mutual understanding between the guys that if one went off with his girl without saying where he was going then you shouldn't go looking unless they hadn't come back by the next breakfast.

"Ok" Kai rolled his eyes knowing what was up.

They sat out in the courtyard having a lazy day admiring how the sun's rays shined down and feeling a cool breeze blow by, at least until a messenger ran up and disturbed the peace.

"Sorry for the disturbance Master Kai, but Master Tenzin and Lord Zuko request an audience with you." The messenger stated

"Uh is-is ok to bring these two?" He pointed to the couple who were undoubtly about to play kissy-face.

The messenger looked at them and then back at Kai. "Yes"

"You heard the man let's go lovebirds." Kai stated in a Mako like tone.

"Look at what I have done." Mako told Jing as they walked to the throne room. "I have rubbed off on him too much."

* * *

"We're here." Kai stated as the trio walked into the room to see lots of people sitting around a table, most of them Kai didn't know.

"Good now we can start." Zuko stated "Over here" He motioned for the trio to sit down next to he and Tenzin.

"Bumi you're up." Tenzin stated, as much as he didn't like his brother he was a great resource to have in times of need.

"Ok so to start…hmm…ah here" Bumi muttered to himself. "Here" He pointed to a location of a map. "Is where we will be going, as you all know the Dai Li have this place locked down tight. Our scout crew barely got out of there alive, but we will be going in in larger numbers and with more naval support. Here is Alpha beach, where the main force will land to distract the Dai Li while the Imperial firebenders will land on Bravo beach to flank them, the Knighthawks will go to the volcano directly. from above, and find the prisoners." Bumi said the plan confidently

"How do we know that the prisoners are even there?" Asked a general.

"The scouts went in and found them. Sadly they could rescue them on their own and nearly died on the exfil."

The room remained silent as people mulled over the plan in their heads, and then Kai spoke.

"Do we know the numbers of the Dai Li?" To him it didn't really matter, he'd fight the whole damn world if it meant getting Jinora back, but knowing the enemy never hurt.

"At least 300 of them." Bumi answered, several older generals, who had served as soldier in the hundred year's war, knew three hundred Dai Li were more than capable of holding off an entire army, but the doubt was pushed out of their thoguhts.

"They should have been disbanded after the Hundred Years War." Muttered one person

"Well if we do this right there won't be any Dai Li roaming free." Kai stated firmly

The military leaders looked over at Kai, he was right and they all knew it, but they could see something in his eyes, determination, the determination they needed so they could be sure this would be a win for them.

"Any more questions?" Zuko asked and looked out at the table, no one made a motion. "Dismissed"

"That was short." Mako muttered, having sat through police briefings he was expecting something long and drawn out.

The military staff walked out of the room having discussions about how many troops to have land in each location, and how effective the "Knighthawks" were.

* * *

 **A/N: Things are heating up... Apologies for it being so short, but I had to get something out this week so you guys would know that I was still here and working.**

 **Sorry for not uploading a chapter last week, I was busy to all hell, and I barely got this one up today as I woke up at 4:30 yesterday, worked hard all day, and didn't get to bed til a little past midnight.**

 **Thank-you for reading!**

 **Have a Nice day!**


	11. Story Upadate

Update 3/26/16

So my schedule is going to be packed these next 5-10 weeks, thus I do not expect much time for writing. I do plan on continuing, but don't expect weekly updates for at least the next 5 weeks, up to 10, as I will have no time to write due to training.

In fact this was supposed to go up on the 7th, but I have been so busy that it is just now going up.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

 **Ok I'm back! Long time no post, I know. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I had a great time this season, finished 6th in my league and 21st in the state. Not only that, but I got to spend the springtime out in nature riding my bike with friends. I have another race this coming weekend, and over summer I plan to keep my 6 day a week schedule of riding, unless there is a fire, so don't expect updates too often, but after school gets out on the 2nd I should have more free time.**

 **Now to the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned avatar there would be a new episode every day.**

* * *

The ship smelled like a pro-bending locker-room, terrible, but that was a small price to pay considering they could be in the open top skiffs getting pelted by the typhoon that had come out of nowhere.

Kai checked over his knives, making sure all were sharp and in the correct spots, and then looked around at the men. Most were battle hardened veterans that had served for years, although a few were around Kai's age and were chomping at the bit for action. Kai smiled, he had been as naive as them when he was younger. Now though he wasn't as excited for battle, but he still loved the high he got from all the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Kai looked out at the troops once more before getting up, remembering the casualties he had heard some generals talk about from the Hundred Year's War. 700 Fire Nation soldiers died in one attack on a group of just 25 Dai Li. He knew they had been good, but from his experience in fighting them for the past few years he wasn't impressed.

Kai walked out onto the deck after he got up and saw a few black-furred sky bison, only one group used those… the Knighthawks.

Kai had worked with them before, but never during a large scale battle. His runs with them had always been for information gathering.

He walked up to the leader, a twenty something that went by the name Jay.

"Hey Jay." Kai said as he walked across the deck to greet him.

"So the rumor is true then I take it…we here for your girl?" Jay asked as he gave Kai a man hug which was returned.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming on such short notice." Kai apologized as he had only told them 4 days in advance.

"Dude you know we can get going in an hour. No need to apologize, besides you helped me get my girl back from those bastards, time I repay the favor." Jay slapped Kai on the back.

"That reminds me. How are things going between you two?" Kai asked as Jay walked over to his bison and grabbed his gear.

Jay stopped what he was doing and motioned for Kai to come over. "Great, but her parents aren't so happy…especially after what we just found out."

"Do not tell me you got her pregnant." Kai stated sternly

"Well it is kind of too late for that." Jay stated sheepishly

"Great, now I have to make sure your sorry ass gets home so your kid had a dad." Kai said

"Wouldn't be the first time you saved my ass." Jay commented as he pulled on his web gear.

"And it probably won't be the last either." Kai stated as he began to walk to the bridge to grab his shit. "I'll be back!" He shouted as he went inside.

Kai got inside and grabbed the rest of his necessary gear, glider, smoke bombs, and a helmet that Asami had made from some magical material she called plastic. As for his clothing that was Varrick's idea, a water-proof suit that doubled as a wingsuit, and to top it off he had his web gear that was packed with knives, a length of rope, and a first aid kit.

He walked up to the bridge to tell Tenzin that he was departing and he'd see him later.

"Master Tenzin" Kai said as he came onto the bridge.

"Officer on deck!" A sailor shouted as Kai walked up, he always got a kick out of that. Having been around the world so much in the last few years made him a very respected man, and had earned him an honorary Captain's ranking in the United Forces so he could do activities more freely.

"At ease." He stated as Tenzin turned to look at him.

"I still don't approve of them." Tenzin stated dryly, referring to the Knighthawks.

"Well they are the best chance we have at getting the prisoners out of there, and I wouldn't have anyone besides them fight beside me if I had a choice." Kai retorted

"Yes, but I would like it if they would join the rest of the Air Nation instead of doing their own thing." Tenzin stated

"We both know they won't join though…it's best to keep them as allies in case we ever do need them." Kai replied tersely "Well…I came to say good luck and see you on the other side." Kai continued

Tenzin tensed up, not enough for anyone other than Kai to notice. "Good luck, and Kai… just remember Guru Patton's saying. 'It is better to fight for something than to live for nothing.'"

"I will." With that Kai left the bridge to join up with the Knighthawks for the battle.

"Ok guys we're good to go!" Kai shouted as he came back onto the deck.

"Everyone do an equipment check, we leave in 5 minutes!" Jay shouted after hearing Kai.

Five minutes later everyone had checked their gear, someone had run below deck to grab an extra length of rope they had forgotten, and loaded onto the bison.

"Ok everyone, this is it. This is what we have been waiting for. You all know Kai, tomorrow we are going to rescue his girl and the other prisoners from the Dai Li. The forecasters predict this typhoon will be gone by midnight, but we have to get into position before then. Understood?" Jay told his fellow airbenders

A chorus of ayes and yes's rang out.

"Ok be ready for combat at sunrise, you'll only get a few hours of sleep, so don't waste it." As he talked he gave a scowl towards a young couple that already had 3 kids.

* * *

 **A/N: It's heating up... both literally an figuratively. Today it is 103 degrees where I live, so that means my bike ride is getting moved to 6pm, so you get this early!**

 **Also, anyone notice the anaphora in the first 2-5 paragraphs? No? It was not intended, but who cares.**

 **Please rate & review**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

* * *

The morning was young, the sun wasn't even up yet, but that didn't bother the Knighthawks, they had spent days on the run with no sleep more times than any single group should have.

Kai got up to see several people already cooking breakfast, eggs and pancakes.

"Hey Kai you're finally up!" Jay hollered

"Yeah yeah, but why eggs and pancakes? Wasn't it a bitch to carry those supplies?" Kai replied as Jay walked over

"Nah, not that much. Just had to make sure that no one fucked up and dropped or crushed the eggs." Jay waved a hand dismissively as he spoke.

"Whatever." Kai grumbled as he grabbed a plate

* * *

"Ok everyone get ready to go." Jay commanded after he finished his meal. "Now Kai has some words he would like to say." He continued

"Fuck you." Kai sneered to Jay, he didn't have anything prepared, but he would make something up on the spot. So he stood up and began to talk.

"I know some of you have fought with me, and some of you haven't, but I would like to tell you all before we head off into battle that you are some of the best warriors I have ever across and it is an honor to fight among your ranks. Some of us may not return, this I know, but if any of us die the others will not forget you. Now if you don't want to do this you can stay, just remember us if we don't return, that is all I ask." Kai finished and was greeted by a chorus of cheers.

He already knew only about half the Knighthawks would go, not because they lacked courage, but because someone had to carry the group on if they were to die.

He walked over to Jay's bison, Gojira, and hopped on just as Jay was taking off.

"So this is it." Jay stated as they got to their cruising altitude.

"Yeah…I just hope she's ok." Kai choked up a little as he said it

"Jinora will be fine, I doubt she would give up that easily." Jay reaffirmed

"Yeah. But what if she isn't the same in her head?" Kai asked, concerned

"We'll cross those bridges when we get there." Jay replied coolly

"Ok. Ok." Kai calmed his tense nerves. "If I don't make it" Kai sighed "Tell her I never gave up and that I died for this cause." Jay looked at Kai, he didn't tell him otherwise, he had been in too many battles to know otherwise. Instead he nodded and then went back to flying, silence enveloping them.

* * *

Soon they met up with Jing, Mako, Korra, Asami, Bolin, and Opal. Now with the whole group assembled they went on to the target. They had some small talk, but they all knew what was coming up and the talk was just a distraction from the impending chaos.

* * *

The Knighthawks and Team Avatar soon sat over the target in an artificial cloud provided by Korra and Opal. All they needed was for the first hint of sunlight to come over the horizon.

The group looked around at their friends and allies, all of them knew this might be the last they would see of some people. Then it came, the first hint of sunlight.

"Everyone ready?" Kai asked as he looked around. He saw everyone nod and then stood up. "Well then…here goes nothing." With that he jumped from the bison he was perched upon, followed by a mass of others.

The airbenders and firebenders slowed themselves by adopting a very unaerodynamic position, but Bolin continued in a pencil dive, flying past them a terminal velocity.

As he approached the top of the volcano, which had layer of earth over the top, he got ready for impact.

Bolin came into the earth and used his earthbending to not only soften his impact, but blow a massive hole in the top of it. He kept going downwards, carried by gravity, and smashed into the main part of the bunker under the volcano's base. He was also amazingly lucky that he had not only penetrated to the core of the bunker, but that he finally stopped within the prison area.

"Holy shit!" A Knighthawk yelled as Bolin blew the hole in the top of the volcano.

The group landed in the hole Bolin had created and immediately came under fire from Dai Li agents.

"Targets right!" Someone yelled

"Targets left!" Another shouted

"Get the prisoners out!" Yet another person yelled

"Korra, get the prisoners out. Asami help her. Opal make sure the prisoners get out. Mako, Jing, come with me." Kai ordered

"We'll hold them here Kai!" Jay yelled as he saw them going deeper into the bunker.

* * *

"Come on Jin, where are you?" Kai muttered to himself as he ran along.

"Targets up here on the left." Jing warned as she felt a heat source up ahead.

"Got it." Kai replied as he pulled out a knife and slowed.

"So there's an attack?" One of the agents asked skeptically

"Yeah, and the girl is the top defensive priority." The other stated

"Well we better go, seeing as we are assigned to guard her."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to get boss pissed off."

The two began to walk towards the trio, who had nowhere to go. So Kai did the one thing he knew he could get away with, he ran right out in front of them.

As he ran out he threw a knife at the guy at the left, who screamed in pain, and sent and air blast at the one on the right. Just as the two regained their bearings they were jumped by the two firebenders wielding fire daggers.

"Where is she?" Kai asked, clearly angry

"Like I'd tell you." The guy who had been hit with the knife sneered

Kai threw another knife into his shoulder, causing him to scream more.

"You best tell me or it gets worse." Kai ordered as he looked at the man.

"I wouldn't tell you if you had a million yuans!" The agent spat back

"Have it your way then." Kai stated as he grabbed the knife he had just put into his shoulder, and twisted.

The Dai Li agent screamed out in pain, but no one bothered to come look for the source of the scream.

"Now one last time. Where. Is. The. Girl." Kai stated

"Down the hall to the right and behind the wall." He stated, not wanting to get tortured again.

"Pick them up, we'll need them to get through the wall." Kai ordered

Mako and Jing grabbed the Dai Li agents and forced them down the hall, Jing taking the guy who wasn't bleeding as she didn't like blood all that much.

* * *

"Bend the wall." Kai grunted at the prisoners. "And don't get any ideas." He added as a warning.

The earthbenders went into a bending stance and removed a chunk of wall, revealing a small chamber that had 7 Dai Li agents inside. Several looked up to see their fellow agents in the opening, flanked by two firebenders and one very aggressive looking airbender.

Agents began to move for a counterattack, but Kai was several steps ahead, quickly sending a massive wave of air into the room and throwing men and supplies around like ragdolls, even sending some chunks for earth loose and flying.

Kai marched in while agents were recovering from the initial attack, well the ones who weren't knocked out, tried to get up. They met more wind which knocked them out.

"They would be great people if they didn't get caught up in this crowd." He muttered

Jing and Mako tied up the two from earlier and then moved in behind Kai, who was staring at a metal door.

"Are you ready for this?" Mako asked as he put a hand on Kai's shoulder. He knew that what they might find could be bad, but he hoped it wasn't what he thought.

"No…but it has to be done." Kai stated in a less than persuasive tone.

Jing grabbed Mako's free hand and held it tightly, for she too was scared of the possible outcome. Mako released his hand from Kai's shoulder and then stood back next to Jing, wrapping his arm around her; he couldn't stop what Kai might see, so the least he could do is keep his girlfriend calm.

* * *

Kai took a step forward, closed his eyes, opened them, and then grasped the locking mechanism and spun. He heard a faint click and the door slowly opened. Not satisfied with how fast it was going he pushed until he could see in.

* * *

 **A/N: Soooo...it's been 2 months since the last update... Yeah. Sorry. I was traveling for all of July and realized today this chapter has been done since mid-June. Well at least I finally got it here, I also have another 3 story ideas that I plan on doing AFTER I complete this. There will be teasers in the last PLANNED chapter of this, yes you read that right.**

 **I know this was only supposed to be 3-6 chapters, but here we are, chapter 12, with more planned afterwards.**

 **Thank you for reading**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

* * *

Kai pushed the door open fast enough to be quick, but slow enough so he could stop it if he was going to hit someone with it. As the door swung wider he was able to see inside.

Inside the cell he saw blood, dirt, vomit, spit, urine, shit, and much more. However what caught his eye was the girl lying face down in the back corner dressed in, well not even rags was a proper description of it, more like the remains of a gilder suit that had been patched with rags over the more private areas.

He walked over and noticed she wasn't moving. Her hair was matted and tangled, dirty and dry, burnt and splitting. Her body hadn't fared much better, bruises, scars, open wounds, infected sores, and a very boney frame.

He finally reached the girl and rolled her over, he was greeted with a face he hadn't seen in years. Before he got excited though he realized how pale she was, he immediately checked to see if she was breathing and had a pulse. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse was waning.

He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman carry, taking care not to hurt her worse. As he completed that he looked around the room and checked it for anything he missed, nothing.

He walked out of the room and came face to face with Mako. Kai had no words, his face however, said it all. "Let's go." Mako stated not knowing what else to do.

Kai nodded and began jogging towards the exit with Mako in front and Jing behind.

* * *

 **15 minutes earlier**

"Sir a Fire Navy ship approaching the island, along with landing craft!" A Dai Li agent informed his CO.

"Shit." The superior spoke under his breath. "Set-up defenses along the beach and lock down the tunnels at every intersection that is within 500 feet of an entrance." He spoke curtly, but confidently.

"Yes, sir!" The underling spoke and quickly ran off to inform the commanders and captains.

"You." The general pointed to a sergeant. "Inform Colonel Lee that _the_ prisoner is to be beat to near death. Understood." The general didn't ask questions when he gave out orders, it was a statement that the sergeant should understand or be punished harshly.

"Yes sir!" The sergeant quickly left to inform the colonel.

* * *

"Yes, I will make sure she is nearly dead, but not quite." Colonel Lee told the sergeant who scurried off.

"You heard him, open the door!" The colonel commanded as he grabbed a whip.

The metal door swung open as the guards unlocked the mechanism that held it closed. After it was fully opened the colonel walked in.

"What do you want." Jinora spoke flatly

"You don't know?!" The colonel pretended to sound hurt. "It is torture time!" He raised a finger in the air to emphasize the importance.

"Oh my bad, I thought it was breakfast." Jinora pretended to sound sincere, even though she had been tortured she had kept an attitude more in line with her grand-mother.

"After this you won't want breakfast for a few days." The colonel stated with an evil grin.

"What do yo-" * **WHACK*** Jinora was hit by a rock in the head and knocked unconscious.

"That will teach you…bitch" The colonel finally had authority to almost kill her. _Enough of the bullshit, just get to it. He thought._

The whip cracked over and over and over again on Jinora's frail frame, leaving marks and gashes all across her back, as well as shredding what little material still made up her clothes.

After 5 minutes of pure rage induced brutality the colonel left, telling his men to leave her alone.

* * *

 **Back to the present**

As the small group headed to the extraction point they found they were making great progress, only a few agents had found themselves to be unlucky enough to end up in the crosshairs.

Unfortunately upon reaching the extraction point they ran into major issue.

Standing in between them and the group left to cover the exit was a tall, strong, and very skilled earth who had 5 others beside him. The man wore a very distinct uniform that everyone knew, it was the uniform of the Obsidian Warriors, and his rank markings showed he was capable, a colonel.

No one had seen a single Obsidian Warrior for at least 50 years, in fact the last remaining one from the war had supposedly died 55 years ago, but this man looked to be in his late 40's and fought like the stories told; brutally with no mercy, there was a reason they had come within inches of killing Fire Lord Sozin.

Now however they had to fight their way out, legends and rumors didn't matter anymore, facts did. And the facts said that they were up shit's creek without a paddle and a sinking boat.

"Mako take Jin and get out of here." Kai told his friend

"What about you?" Mako asked

"Don't worry about me." He replied

"Fine, but if you don't come back I will personally come back, revive you and kill you again myself!" Mako threatened

"Works for me." Kai shrugged as he handed Jinora over and took off to the far side of the chamber.

Luckily for Mako and Jing they had been unnoticed by everyone, allies included, so they decided to wait for Kai to cause a distraction and then make their move.

Kai silently snuck across the room completely opposite of Mako's trio. He was also lucky as the dust and debris thrown up by the battle gave him the perfect attack route, directly behind the enemy.

He quickly, but silently, ran up behind the colonel. The colonel's skills and experience wouldn't matter in this fight, Kai had complete and utter surprise.

As Kai got within range for a quick takedown he pulled out a dual-bladed-serrated knife about 9 inches long and made his move.

Time slowed for the older man as he felt an arm reach around him and pulled him back. Before anyone knew what had happened Kai had sunk the knife into the man's neck and slit his throat, blood going everywhere.

Slowly everyone realized what happened, and Kai's allies quickly, and swiftly, retaliated with massive force, quickly subduing or killing the other 5 Dai Li agents.

"Kai!" Korra yelled as she ran over to him, a concerned look on her face.

"Korra is everyone good?" Kai asked, now soaked in blood from both Jinora and the deceased colonel.

"3 Knighthawks died, Opal and Bolin have serious injuries, and 10 more Knighthawks have injuries from life-threatening to minor." Korra replied

"Shit. Who died and who has life-threatening injuries?" Kai questioned while the group began to exit through the hole Bolin had created earlier.

"Gan, Lee, and Moshi were killed;" Kai breathed a sigh of relief as Jay hadn't died, however he had known the 3 who died personally and was still greatly affected, but he had a job to do. "Jay has life threatening injuries. If it weren't for him Opal and Bolin would have died. He airbent a massive boulder away from them while they were unconscious, but by doing so he was hit by a smaller one and left himself open to several earthbending attacks." Korra quickly rattled off.

"Ok." Kai calmed his mind to figure out what to do. "Have the others take the dead and wounded to the hospital ship, you take Jinora to the South Pole as quickly as you can. Try to keep her stable, the only person who can save her is Master Katara." Kai was stern and concise with his orders.

"What are you going to do?" Korra asked curiously.

"Help win this fight." With that Kai flew off, no glider required for him, although he carried his lightweight metal one for weapon purposes.

"Ok everyone!" Korra shouted, to get their attention, as she got to the top of the volcano. "Get the wounded onto the bison! Opal, Bolin, and Jinora are going with me to the South Pole, the rest are going to the hospital ship. Jing, Mako, Asami get your shit and let's go!" With that the rescue force took off at break neck speeds for their respective destinations.

As Kai came over a ridge, that had been separating him from the battle, he saw just how massive the fight was.

Two brigades of conventional forces had been deployed on the largest beach of the island, while a single company of Imperial firebenders had landed on the bravo side to attempt a pincer maneuver on the Dai Li forces. However from the looks of it the plan had gone horribly wrong, the main force was being pushed back into the sea and the Imperial firebenders had been encircled.

The fleet was bombarding the beach in an attempt to relieve the pressure from the main force and get them off the beach, with minimal success. The Imperial firebenders however were trapped about half a mile inland with no means of escape, luckily for them they we on a hilltop and the enemy was having a hard time assaulting their position.

As Kai observed he determined he couldn't help much on the island at this point, so he headed for the command ship to inform command of the situation.

* * *

He landed on the flybridge and quickly headed to the ops center where he could help formulate a strategy.

"Sir, 3rd platoon hasn't reported to the beachhead!" A comms officer exclaimed

"See if reinforcements can be sent to find them." An officer replied

"Copy." The comms officer said as he began to send the message.

"Lord Zuko, Kai is here." An officer next to Zuko informed

"Kai? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the island helping in the rescue?!" Tenzin questioned as he saw him walk in. "And why are you covered in blood?!"

"Long story, no time, Jinora is going to the South Pole." Kai said quickly

"I…I have to go." Tenzin stated as he ran out the door, everyone knew where he was headed.

"Ok Kai what did you come here for?" Zuko asked in the silence from everyone watching Tenzin leave.

"Right. Business." Kai took a breath and continued. "The main force has been pushed all the back to the beach, they need immediate extraction." He looked at the map on the table to see how the forces were deployed. "Why are the imperial troops there?" Kai questioned upon seeing the troops in the incorrect position.

"We lost contact with them 20 minutes ago, that was their last known location." Zuko answered

"Well I know why you lost contact. They are surrounded on this hilltop, they were barely hanging on when I flew over."

Zuko pondered what to do for a moment.

"Sir, we can use the tanks to rescue them and then push towards the main beach and flank the enemy." A captain replied

"We could, but then we have to get the tanks off the beach." Zuko stated

"Yes, but the tanks can survive the barrage unlike a regular ground force." The captain replied

"That is true Tanku…but how will they get to the troops?" Zuko paused and looked at him for an answer.

"Simple sir. They will be landed here" He pointed to the far side of the island. "and then push through the minimal defenses there, break through the siege of the imperial troops, and meet at the main beach." As he spoke he drew a line with his finger across the map.

"Bold… can it be done?" Zuko questioned, knowing that Tanku was a tanker.

"Sir with all due respect do you remember the success Daimyo Nikon Orlando at the Battle of Mequon?" Tanku stated more than questioned.

"Yes, my uncle talked of him often when talking about his younger years, later in life I learned the fully story. He was courageous, brave, and, most importantly, wise." Zuko sighed "He sacrificed himself and his brigade to slow the advance of Nifong, ultimately resulting as the move that won the battle." Zuko finished with a solemn look, for he was forced to remember his uncle, and a story that made him hate his father far more than had previously been the case. "But to does that relate to this?" He finished.

"That is what I wish to do." Tanku stated confidently.

"What?" Kai exclaimed, shocked after hearing the exchange.

"I will take a platoon and get those men out of there." Tanku stated directly to Zuko.

All eyes in the room looked at Zuko for an answer, in the old days of Fire Lord Ozai this action would have meant execution, but Zuko was not like his father.

"On one condition." Zuko looked up from the map where he had been looking and thinking. "You bring those men back home."

"Sir" Tanku addressed "I swear on my honor, the honor of my family, and by all the spirits that if I fail you, you will not have to worry about punishment for I would rather die trying to succeed in my goal than return in shame." His words were sincere and no man in the room could doubt him.

Zuko looked intently at the man and then spoke. "For doing this you will not have to worry about your honor, or anyone else's. I once struggled with my honor." This earned him shocked looks from everyone in the room.

"I learned honor can never be given or taken by anyone." He looked around the room at everyone "Honor can only be earned through ones actions. Remember this as you fight, whether you are battling today, or long after my time has passed and Agni has called me home."

No one needed to ask if permission was granted, that had been thoroughly explained. All they could do was go back to work, after all a battle was in progress.

Kai walked over to Tanku and looked him directly in the eyes. "No man will pay for my mistake" Kai stated, the captain was about to reply when Kai cut him off. "At least not without me there to take some of the heat."

The tanker nodded and then replied as they walked down a hallway. "I thought you airbenders were peaceful."

"We seek the most peaceful solution, however in some cases fighting is the best way to answer for your mistakes." Kai replied, with a downcast look on his face.

Noticing this Tanku gave Kai a piece of advice. "I understand you may have made some bad choices, but today is the day you set things right."

"Yes…I can't change the past, but my actions from this point on will affect the future of many." Kai firmly stated

With that the two left for the land craft that would take the tankers to the beach.

* * *

The ship containing the landing craft sped around to the rear of the island and was in position no more than 10 minutes later.

The tankers had gathered in their tanks and were mentally steeling themselves for the battle ahead. Kai however was occupied with his own thoughts as he waited for the signal to be given.

He knew that he had sent Jinora to the best healer in the world, but in her state he had no idea if even Katara could save her. He also knew he couldn't run from this fight, he had been the one responsible for it. It was he that had made Jinora go on that fateful mission, and in doing so started a saga that had led to this point.

If his time on the street had taught him one thing it was this, if you start a fight you better be damn well sure you can end it. That was the one thing he was ready to do today.

As he pondered his situation he heard the bell signaling the launch of the landing craft. Kai jumped straight up and began flying towards the island, his glider held in his hands for quick access.

Kai hadn't realized this before, but he was only one of three people the spirits choose to bestow the gift of flight on, why him he had no clue.

Maybe the spirits thought he was important, maybe they didn't want to see such talent be killed by its own accord, or maybe they just wanted to see a love prosper despite gaining no benefit from it.

The world may never know the answer to why the spirits had given him this gift, but he knew that he needed to make the most of it.

He came over the beach, and as he looked down, saw several Dai Li preparing to launch boulders at the helpless landing craft.

So he did the one thing he could, he dove and came down right in the midst of one of the emplacements.

"What the fuck?" Someone stated as a cloud of dust suddenly appeared.

The men inside looked at him with a shocked look, but before they could react they were all sent flying every which way. Most hit the ground hard enough to break bones, and one unlucky soul hit the wall headfirst, snapping his neck, leaving his head an unnatural angle as his body slumped over.

Kai ran through the trenches quickly doing similar actions in the other emplacements before they could fire at the transports.

Kai knocked had finished knocking out all five of the manned emplacements that overlooked the beach by the time the landing craft had gotten the tanks to shore.

However that was the easy part.

Now they had to push across a mile of the island, break through enemy lines, rescue the trapped troops, push another half a mile to the beachhead, hold the enemy until everyone was away, and then evacuate with no cover on the beach.

 _Simple enough_ Kai thought to himself.

* * *

They had been fighting for 15 minutes, and 10 of those had been intense fighting.

Kai was flying above the tanks to scout the area ahead, and stop anyone from flanking them. He was tired, he was covered in blood that was not his own, sweat ran across his body like water through a river, his face and body were marred by dust, cuts were scattered everywhere across exposed skin, but he kept going.

The tankers were feeling the heat too. They had been getting pounded by rocks and boulders for the last 12 minutes, but their machines kept going, which meant the men were in high spirits.

* * *

After hard hits Tanku would put his hand over a framed picture he had secured above the radio.

Most would look at the picture and notice the terrible quality, almost so bad you couldn't make out faces, but he knew better. That picture was his grandmother, and her tank crew the day before the Battle of Mequon.

The picture had been taken long ago, on one of the earliest cameras. It was worn, the edges tattered, but the main part was still there.

On the bottom were the signatures of the crew members. One stood out to above all. It was big and the writer obviously was not known for subtlety as it was smack in the middle of the bottom, barely leaving room for the others.

That was Nikon Orlando's signature, the man that lead the one way mission of The Fifth Brigade of the Army of the Great Divide.

* * *

Kai kept the tanks safe from the skies, and in return they took care of anything that moved on the ground that wasn't a friend.

Twenty minutes after landing the tanks on the beach Kai spotted what remained of the Imperial firebenders. He flew down to the lead tank to inform Tanku of his discovery.

"Kai" Tanku was exhausted from nearly fifteen minutes of straight bending. "What do you see?" He asked as he burnt an agent to a crisp.

"The troops are on that hill." Kai pointed to a hill about 500 yards away.

"You mean the one with all the flame and rock flying around?" Tanku asked, wanting to confirm his thoughts.

"That'd be it." Kai grinned

"…" The captain was thinking. "Go up there and help them, we'll be there in 2 minutes, and take this." The tank commander handed Kai a small portable radio, about the size of a brick.

"Okay, I'll update you as soon as I get there." Kai stated before taking off.

The captain stared at the young airbender as he flew off, that boy had seen more shit in his twenty years then most soldiers saw in their whole careers.

However his thoughts were cut short as a 75 pound rock flew within inches of his head. He quickly went back to work.

Kai arrived on top of the hill, the ground was colored a deep red, no doubt from blood. He walked to what looked like the command post, however it looked more like a morgue as bodies were slumped over packs and limbs strewn about like grass on a hillside.

He saw a tall man barking orders at people, who in turn ran off to the nearby lines. _He must be in charge._

"Are you the captain?" Kai asked the man

"No, he died 45 minutes ago. I'm the Master Sergeant." The tall man replied

"Are any of the officers alive?" Kai asked

"Yes, the Second Lt is, but he is unconscious." He replied dryly. "And who are you."

"I'm with a tank platoon, they're a few minutes out. After they get here we're going to head to the main beach to evacuate with the main force." Kai informed him

"How are we supposed to get there? We have one platoon worth of men that can actually fight, half a platoon worth of injured, and the rest are dead." He stated it as if he were taking stock of his wares.

"I don't know…but what I do know is that if we don't get there we are going to die." Kai affirmed

The man looked Kai over again. "Who are you really?" He asked

Kai sighed "I'm Kai"

"Kai, should have known. You know not many airbenders get a nickname Eagle of the East." The Master Sergeant replied with gusto as they shook hands.

"Well who are you?" Kai asked

"I am a simple soldier, my name does not matter. Now quickly, we have to organize the men if we want to get to the beach!" The Master Sergeant replied

The tanks finally broke through the enemy lines, earning them cheers from their friendly troops. As the tanks pulled into the meager defensive perimeter wounded were loaded onto a tank and everyone else hopped on the remained 3 tanks.

"Everyone!" The Master Sergeant yelled from atop a rock that had been sent at them earlier "The healthy human mind does not think its next few hours will be its last. But I believe that is a luxury. Not a curse. To know you are close to the end is a kind of freedom. This is a good time to take…inventory. Outgunned. Outnumbered. Out of our minds. On a suicide mission. But the sand and rocks here, stained with thousands of years of warfare…They will remember us. For this. Because out of our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forward like a breath exhaled from the earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight. We will. Win."

The soldiers, though beleaguered, gave a thunderous cheer. Kai thought it was funny, that in such a hell hole everyone was cheered up by some simple words.

"Ok let's get going!" Tanku ordered

The small force took off down to the beach to evacuate with the rest of the force.

As they fought their way to the beach Kai thought about the briefing. _300 Dai Li my ass._

"Shit! Enemy on the left!" A corporal shouted

"I see 'em!" A tank gunner yelled in reply

"Fucking hell! My leg" A private screamed in pain as a rock impaled his leg.

"We need a medic!" His friend yelled

"They're all dead!" Someone else shouted

The small force did make quick work of the enemy however. They ended up crossing the half a mile to the main beach in just 10 minutes.

They had paid though. They now had three quarters of a platoon worth of wounded, half a platoon still able to fight, and a quarter of a platoon worth of dead. As well as a two tank crewman dead, with 2 more injured after their tank had been destroyed.

As they pulled into the beachhead a captain asked them what they needed.

"Medics!" Tanku replied as he motioned for the infantry to get off his tanks.

"Copy, we'll get the wounded on the hospital ship." The other captain replied

"I'm going to go find the guy in charge." Kai stated as he took off for a small tent.

"Be quick, we need off this shithole." The Master Sergeant replied as he ordered those who could still fight to the front.

* * *

"Hang in there Jinora." Korra stated as she woke from unconsciousness, only to go straight back to it.

"More water!" Korra ordered

Asami and Jing quickly complied, grabbing another five gallon jug from the back of the bison.

"ugh" Opal muttered as she stirred from unconsciousness.

"You're up!" Bolin shouted as he hugged her. He had woken up about half an hour earlier.

"Where are we? What the hell happened?" Opal asked, confused

"We're on Juicy headed to the South Pole, and we got knocked unconscious." Bolin replied

"Whaa?" Opal was at a loss for words

"It's a long story, explain later." Mako interrupted rom the bison's head.

"How much farther until the South Pole?" Korra asked Mako

"At this rate it will be 3 more hours." Mako replied

"Speed it up…I don't think she has 3 hours." Korra gravely stated

* * *

"General!" An aide interrupted

"Yes" He replied annoyed

"The imperial troops are here with three tanks." His aide replied

"Good, start the evacuation."

"Okay."

Kai then ran in, panting. "Sir, we have a plan for evacuation. The tanks will cover everyone and then get off the island."

"Who are you?" The general was getting seriously annoyed with these interruptions, he had a battle to fight.

"Kai." He was still recovering from his sprint.

The general's eye's shot open. "That is straight from Lord Zuko then?"

"Yes" Kai lied, but he knew Tanku and his crews agreed.

"Ok," He looked at his aide "continue with that plan!"

"Copy"

"I have a radio here." Kai stated

"Use that instead." The general informed him

"Baseplate this is Quebec-Papa." Kai spoke into the radio

"Go ahead Quebec-Papa." A calm voice replied

"We are commencing evacuation of the beach, send the transports. How copy."

"Baseplate copies commence evacuation."

"Break it down. We're leaving." The general stated

This battle was meant to be won, but the Dai Li had obviously been hiding thousands of troops deeper in the mountain than the scouts had gone, so they were retreating…for now.

* * *

The battle quickly reached higher intensities as troops began to board landing craft, the dead and wounded first.

The Dai Li knew that with less men on the front it would be easier to win, but they hadn't accounted for the three tanks that were now running through their lines with minimal resistance.

The fighting reached a peak as the last conventional forces left, leaving only the tanks and what remained of the Imperial firebenders.

Suddenly though the fighting ceased, as if the spirits had made it halt.

That was not the case however. Kai, who had decided to stay until the very end, saw a man he hated.

"Hello, Kai" The man stated, a devilish smile on his face.

"Grr" Kai grunted

"Your whore was treated well I assure you…" The man paused "At least until you showed up."

Kai tightened the grip on his glider.

The man looked Kai over. "Do you not remember me? Or should I remind you?"

"Fuck you." Was all Kai said in response.

"Oh…an airbender doesn't use such profanity!" The man pretended to be disgusted

"I was a street kid long before I was an airbender." Kai replied, not showing a trace of fear.

"Well that isn't what your whore moaned about as my men-" He started, trying to get Kai angry.

Suddenly a massive air blast sent him flying back into his men, knocking the breath out of him, who quickly prepared to beat the remaining forces to a pulp.

"Wait!" The man held up his hand, his black cloak flowing in the wind. "I'll deal with him myself!"

"What about the fire breathers?" An agent asked

"Let them go." He muttered as he locked gaze with Kai.

"What do we do?" The Master Sergeant asked no one in particular.

"Leave." Kai stated gruffly

"Why, we can take 'em!" A soldier hollered

"This is not your fight." Kai replied

"But we can help." The same guy retorted

"This is his fight men." A Voice of experience spoke. "He must set things right for himself, we cannot help if he does not want us to." Kai averted his gaze for a split second to see who was talking, it was Tanku.

"But sir-"

"That is an order private. Now move it." He had sadness in his eyes, but he knew this was something Kai needed to face by himself.

Kai nodded in his direction as they boarded the landing craft to leave, he returned with a salute, which Kai returned.

"So…now that your friends are gone what are you going to do?" The man quipped

"I beat you in that tunnel surrounded by your own element! And I'll beat you here!" Kai shouted across the battlefield, blood stained the sand.

"You fool! I would not have sought this fight if I thought I would lose!" He blabbered manically

"You seem confident." Kai smirked as they both began to circle each other like sharks a corpse.

"Very perceptive you are." The Dai Li agent joked

"Well I wouldn't get cocky, after all, you lost to a kid." Kai smirked, then he saw the anger flash across his opponent's face, mission success.

"You will pay for that day!" The earthbender roared

The fight had begun.

Boulders flew from the ground at extreme speed. Kai expertly dodged all of them, leaving the Dai Li behind him to scatter for cover.

Kai retaliated with several air blasts, all of which were blocked by a wall of earth.

The wall was sent flying back towards Kai as it had no further defensive use.

Kai, unable to dodge, sent an air slice at it, cutting it in half.

The scene quickly began to be obscured by dust as the Dai Li general sent unwavering attacks at the young man. However nothing was happening.

Kai was slicing rocks, and blasting boulders away. Causing such a large cloud of dust that the men on the ships thought there had been a massive explosion.

The onslaught continued for several minutes, Kai was completely defensive. Then he had a thought.

 _I can get above him_.

Suddenly Kai decided to take-off into the sky. And when the Dai Li noticed boulders were no longer being blocked he smirked. "I have you now." He stated, walking to where Kai last was.

But as he walked to the spot where Kai should have been he didn't see anything. "Where are you?" He questioned, his eyes narrowing.

Suddenly a knife, propelled by airbending, hit his shoulder, leaving a deep gash as it took out a few inches of surface skin.

He turned on his heel, only to be struck from the direction he had been facing on the right arm, the same side as the shoulder.

"You sneaky little-!" The Dai Li had enough and grounded the dust cloud, leaving Kai completely exposed.

"Oh shit" Kai muttered under his breath

He was inches away from the agent, who quickly grabbed him before he could react.

"I have you now." He muttered

He threw Kai to the ground, locking him in place with earthen restraints.

"Now you will pay for your crimes against the earth kingdom…with your life!" The man yelled

Kai closed his eyes, if this was is time so be it…at least he had gotten Jinora out of here.

The agent formed a boulder into a massive spike of earth. Then he lifted it up.

Kai took a breath, and then exhaled, calming his nerves.

The agent lifted the giant spike and then moved it over Kai's body.

"Any last words?" He asked as he raised it higher.

Kai remained silent.

"So be it." With that he sent the rock hurtling toward the airbender.

Suddenly the rock had switched direction, aiming straight for the gut of the general.

Kai's restraints fell off as the Dai Li lost his focus, I mean who wouldn't with a 6 foot rock protruding through their gut.

Kai jumped up, readying a knife. He leaned down towards his now dying opponent.

"Next time you want to kill an airbender that way, cover their mouth." He whispered.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, yeah... been a while. _More than a while._ My explanation will be short and concise. School sucks, AP Chem sucks, Junior year sucks, but hey I have good friends at least! **

**My leave of absence was mostly for school, and then when I did have time I had to do DMV stuff for my permit, and when that wasn't going on I was going to car accidents and fires. So yeah, hectic isn't proper to describe my time over the past few months. I will make no promises of regular uploads because as soon as mountain biking starts I will have even less free-time to write. In fact most of this was written back in August, but due to everything I just got around to doing my final read and touch-up.**

 **So many of you may have noticed 2 things that I referenced.**

 **1 was Nikon Orlando from Acastus's story "Prince Iroh" (** **s/2915248/1/Prince-Iroh** **). I know that I spoiled his fate a little, but trust me that is only the surface of the story. The story makes you find more reasons to hate certain characters in ATLA and makes you understand how Iroh became so wise.**

 **2 was something I am sure lots of you have heard. It was the Speech the Master Sergeant gave, which was pretty much an exact copy of Captain Price's speech in Modern Warfare 2. It was great, and I liked it so it got put in.**

 **Don't forget to Favorite and Review!**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

Kai looked up and quickly remembered where he was. No sooner than he looked up was he airborne and getting the hell out of there.

As quickly as he had killed his opponent the beach was alive with rocks from earthbenders. Unfortunately for them Kai was already long gone.

* * *

Kai flew back to the command ship, flying over the last landing craft in the process.

Once he arrived he was greeted by two guards who quickly led him down to Zuko.

"Lord Zuko" Kai greeted quickly, followed by a light bow, "Any word from Ka- Master Katara?" Kai stuttered as he wanted to use her proper title.

"She just contacted us wondering where they are." Zuko had a hint of worry in his voice. "Even Tenzin got there already."

"What!" Kai exclaimed

"We don't know where they are they are they could be lost or maybe-" Zuko was cut off.

"Sir incoming transmission, urgent!" A radio tech shouted, "From Master Katara, 'They are here.'"

"Thank you sailor." Zuko stated "Kai I will see to it the Dai Li are dealt with here, you go to the South Pole."

"Thank you for your help, I hope we may meet again under more peaceful circumstances." Kai addressed the former Fire Lord.

They both gave each other a light bow and then Kai was off to his bison.

* * *

"Come on boy it's Jin." Kai urged his bison as they flew across the ocean to the nearest spirit portal.

A grunt of understanding was the only reply.

They were flying at speeds which, back in the old days before the war, would have strained bison trained for bison polo. Lefty however was making it look easy. Whether it was due to his spiritual connection to his master, and thus Jinora, which pushed him on; or his raw determination to please his master, or perhaps a combination of both, we shall never know.

All of that was not fast enough for Kai though. As far as he was concerned they were going slower than a Turtle-Snail.

It only took them a fraction of the normal time to reach the portal in Republic City.

* * *

Korra had been growing weary, Jinora was losing vitals, Bolin was experiencing an extreme migraine, Opal had discovered her left arm was bleeding profusely (the tight wingsuit had kept pressure on the wound and it was barely bleeding until she took it off to look at her arm), she herself was hungry, dehydrated, and tired.

To say she was stressed would be the understatement of the century. Even when fighting Amon or her uncle, or even the Red Lotus and Kurvira she had never been this stressed.

She had to stay with Jinora or else she would die, but if she didn't help Opal she was going to bleed out, and Bolin was not helping anyone due to his migraine. For once she wished Mako was by her side, that was not going to happen though as he was trying to navigate the fog cloud that had appeared out of nowhere in front of them to find the portal.

That left Asami, whose skills in medicine were that of a 6 hour class she took when she was 12. Not much when you have two reds getting ready to turn into blacks on the back of a sky bison.

But Jing was there, and she was much more skilled.

She had directed Asami to help Jing dress and clean Opal's wound, but that had been difficult with the limited supplies they had.

Finally they caught a break.

"Korra," Mako called "the portal is dead ahead!"

"Thank Raava!" Korra shouted "Now get us to the South Pole!"

The group saw the spirt world for no more than thirty seconds as they jumped from portal to portal. They were quickly greeted by a clear afternoon upon returning to the physical world.

"You got a heading for the compound?" Mako implored

"Fifteen degrees west of the city." Korra replied out of pure memory.

Mako swung the bison around and began to head in that direction.

* * *

"Master Katara we see them on the horizon." A White Lotus guard stated

Katara remained quiet for a moment before speaking. "How many healers do you have?" She questioned

"Uh" The White Lotus thought "three on the guard."

"Send them to my hut." Katara stated "I feel we will need them."

No one knew how she did it, nearly every time her skills were called upon since she had returned to the Pole she seemed to know exactly what was needed before even seeing the patient.

A streak of lucky guesses some said, others refuted that she was lucky, but no one had that much luck. Some said she sensed the chi in a person long before she saw them, a skill which had been demonstrated by an elite Water Tribe unit early in the war. Still others claimed it was perhaps a more spiritual thing, perhaps having to do with her connection to the Avatar.

In any case she was almost always prepared for physical injuries, the only 2 injuries that had stumped her were Korra's bending block and a strange illness that afflicted a young boy years ago.

The bison came into view, an untrained observer would have claimed it slow, but to her trained eyes it was going at near top speed.

The bison plopped down, only now did they see a small rain of red liquid trailing behind the bison. As the bison dropped into a loading area to make the saddle equal with the ground and the group on the ground saw the full scale of it.

Water that was tinged a deep red was at least an inch deep in the saddle, most of the red coming from Opal and Jinora, although unknown to Korra and Asami, most likely due to adrenaline, they had lots of cuts and scrapes adding to the mess.

Blood covered clothing and poor attempts at bandages covered the saddle, floating or half floating in the mess.

Quickly two stretchers were brought over and Jinora and Opal were laid upon them. Korra got up as well to continue care for Jinora.

Asami also stepped off, helping Jing get Bolin up. It was only after getting up however that they could see the entire mess. They all, except Mako who had been piloting, were covered in blood from at least their knees down.

"Holy shit!" Mako exclaimed as he got up to help Bolin and Asami along.

"Hey Mako" Asami greeted, albeit weakly.

"You guys look like hell." Mako stated as he hopped under Bolin's other arm, Jing getting out of the bloody mess.

"If you think we do you don't want to see Opal or Jinora then." Asami deadpanned

Mako went silent.

* * *

Kai came flying into the compound like a bat out of hell. Lefty didn't even stop before he jumped off, but he was an airbender, a flying one at that, so it wasn't risky at all. Of course seeing the red path in the snow hadn't helped his decision making any.

He quickly ran towards the hut that he knew belonged to Katara.

As he ran in he saw the group sitting in the waiting room. Mako was the best off, he was lightly covered in someone else's blood though, his girlfriend leaning against him covered in blood. Next to her was Asami, who was completely covered in blood that was not her own, but her cuts and scrapes had been healed. Bolin was next to them being treated by a younger girl.

"Where's everyone else?!" Kai questioned, not even breathing hard from the running.

"In there." Mako pointed to the main room unsteadily.

"Thanks" Kai breathed as he headed in there.

* * *

As Kai walked in he saw Opal off to the left on a cot being tended to by a single healer and in the middle of the room was a throng of people.

"How is she?" Kai asked as he dove into the throng.

"Better, but still not there all the way." A nearby healer said

"Tenzin" Kai stated

"Yes Kai?" Tenzin asked as he looked up.

"How is she?" Kai was looking for a solid answer.

"She- she… she isn't doing well." Tenzin had trouble saying it.

Kai nodded at that and looked around some more. He noticed Katara was leaned over Jinora, as was Korra.

Korra, she was covered in blood. _Where did that come from?_ Kai thought _Oh no._

"Korra" Kai said "Korra!" He repeated to get her attention.

"Kai?!" She was stunned he was already here.

"Where did the blood come from?" He ignored her.

"Uh" Korra looked around for an out.

"Answer me straight." Kai ordered

"It is from Jinora and Opal." She sighed

"Ok" Kai took as breath "But you are also hurt."

"Kai I'm fine." Korra replied as she went back to work.

"No you aren't." Kai retorted, pointing an injury on her arm.

"It's nothing-" She began to argue.

"Korra you are getting checked out by a healer." Tenzin ordered

"Fine" Korra huffed

"Shit!" Korra exclaimed as she got up, diving back down instantly.

"What?!" Tenzin and Kai asked in unison

"Come on Jinora." Korra urged as she moved her hands to either side of the girls head.

"What is going on?" Kai asked

"Jinora just- just-" Korra could finish

"Jinora just lost vitals." Katara solemnly stated

Kai was in shock. Jinora, his Jinora had just died in front of him.

After several moments of nothing Kai pulled out a knife.

Most would have called it normal, or even simple, but that was not what was important. The knife had been the first thing Jinora had bought for him besides food. She bought it so he could help her with chores around the island, a simple utility knife most acolytes carried.

Kai took the knife and laid it on her chest, the one he would never she rise and fall again as they laid in bed.

He pulled back and quietly sat there looking at the ground.

The room was silent, dead silent.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back. And yes Jinora just did die if that wasn't clear enough. I had Kai leave her with the knife as a sign of respect. In Viking culture you are buried with your weapons so that you can take them to Valhalla with you.**

 **Anyways I have been having fun, kind of. Ran a vehicle fire last night at 8:30 and by the time we got on scene it was a smoking heap. Thank God it was not mid-August or I would still be up on the hill chasing that fire and you guys would have to wait longer for another chapter.**

 **I plan on starting another story soon(TM), but don't worry this isn't over...yet.**

 **Don't forget to review, favorite, follow or whatever if you liked.**

 **Thank you for reading and have an awesome day.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

"You might need this." A voice called

Everyone looked to see where it had come from, but Kai new that tone anywhere. Jinora.

"Jin are you good?" Kai asked desperately as he grabbed her shoulders.

"Better than you." She replied, coughing afterwards.

Kai leaned down and hugged her lightly. "Thank you for coming back." He whispered in her ear.

"Thank you for getting me." She replied

Kai pulled back and Tenzin talked to her briefly before Katara went back to work.

Kai got the knife back before leaving, at Jinora's request.

If it was his choice he would have stayed in the room, but Katara ordered everyone not a healer out, Tenzin included.

His emotions had gone all over all day. Beginning with hope, to despair, to courage, to pride, to desperation, to fear, to pure sadness, to happiness, and to love.

He was glad that she was alive. He had no idea how. Kai shuddered, he didn't want to think about this anymore.

He came into the main room to see the rest of the group there, anxious looks on their faces.

No one dared say a word, the air was tense.

"She" Kai paused to compose himself "She's fine."

A collective sigh was heard.

"Thank Raava" Asami said exasperated

Kai simply nodded and walked out of the hut. He walked past the stables, past the other huts, and past the guards. He walked for about 5 minutes. Then he stopped.

He hit his knees and began to cry. Crying both out of joy and sadness.

"Thank you." He muttered between sobs.

* * *

 **A/N: No I am not a cruel heartless bastard you all think I am from the last chapter, the next one will explain it all.**


End file.
